Stolen Memories
by kmf
Summary: Every time she closed her eyes she would see him falling to his knees. She would see him smile up at her. She would hear his last words to her “…go…to…hell…” COMPLETE!
1. Default Chapter

Stolen Memories 

Standard disclaimers apply: I do not own Gundam Wing, etc...... 

Chapter One 

Relena Darlian, Foreign Minister, a woman in her mid twenties frowned as she stood on her balcony breathing in the cool autumn air. Her long honey brown hair was caught up in a loose knot on the top of her head and loose strands were floating in the wind in front of her face. She ignored the distraction concentrating on her breathing. Closing her eyes she started counting slowly to five with each inhale and exhale. She tried to blank her mind, to make the headache which had started shortly into the latest day of talks between the representatives of the terrafarmers on Mars, ESUN and delegates from the two colonies evaporate. 

It had been a particularly gruelling session, Relena personally had a lot of sympathy for the farmers. Theirs was a difficult existence, filled with all sorts of dangers. With her brother Millardo and his partner Lucrezia resident on Mars Relena had made it her business to keep well informed on Martian living conditions. Relena agreed that they warranted tax relief on imported luxuries and productivity bonuses, but it was going to be a hard slog getting the colonists and ESUN to come to her way of thinking. 

Sally Po, her friend and physician, had advised her that meditation was a good way to combat the headaches that Relena had begun to experience. After four years as Vice Foreign Minister and two years as Foreign Minister the strain was beginning to show. Whilst Relena had initially thrived on the lifestyle of a world leader, she had admitted to Sally that she was feeling isolated and lonely despite all the meetings, seminars, conferences and peace talks she attended. 

Relena had no family left on Earth. Her brother was settled on Mars apparently content enough with his life that he only contacted Relena occasionally, and not at all in the last two years since her promotion. Relena's stepmother had died a year ago, the space shuttle in which she had been travelling had developed a fault with its life support system. When the shuttle had been recovered all passengers and crew had been found asphyxiated. 

Relena had good friends, but her schedule made it difficult of see them in person very often. Duo and Hilde both worked as preventors on L1, Quatre was a delegate for L2 also had a major hand in the running of his family business. Trowa had joined the preventors on L2 after his sister Catherine had married the ringmaster. Trowa claimed that Catherine was so distracted by married life that her aim when throwing daggers was suffering. When Catherine's knifes had claimed a lock of Trowa's hair, she had laughed and said it was either time for Trowa to get a new hairstyle or a new job and that a new job would suit him better than a crew cut. Whenever Relena visited either colony, she would meet up with her old friends, but with her work there was never much time to socialise, other than catching up on news whilst being chauffeured from one meeting to another. 

Sally was adamant that if Relena could not reduce her workload, then a program of meditation before bed would help with her headaches. Wufei had snorted at this and suggested that "the woman" should embark on physical exercise and had devised a fitness program for her. Releena offered no protest to either suggestion and promised to try both. And she had - a gym had been installed in one of the mansions many rooms. Mirrored walls adorned it so she could practice Tai Chi, Karate and Pilate and try and perfect the exercises. She had also read up on meditation and had often come home, lit candles and sat cross-legged on the floor willing the days troubles to disappear. 

Tonight, Relena knew what was wrong. She knew what the illusive element was, the piece of the puzzle that prevented her from achieving serenity and calmness. 

...Heero... 

She missed him. He had been gone so long. 

She mouthed the name, then shook her head angry with herself. She took another deep breath, exhaled through her mouth trying again to achieve calm. Inhale, two, three four five, exhale, two, three, four, five..... 

Heero.... When she first seen him on the beach where he had washed up, she had thought what beautiful eyes he had. Eyes to stare at for hours, eyes to loose one self in. He had narrowed those eyes and fled from her. When she next encountered those eyes, they had narrowed again and he had said he would kill her. Relena remembered the shock she had felt, the disbelief that he would threaten her, the fear and also the anticipation of their next encounter. 

After her father had been assassinated, Relena again courted Heero's dangerous side. She had willingly offered her life, just to be close to him, to convince him that she believed in what he believed in. That she was ready to die for those beliefs. He had saved her with his Gundam from certain death when a tower of the school they attended had been blasted and would have crushed her. He had even tried to kill her a few minutes later with the Gundam, but had been unable to. Instead he had fled. Relena snorted to herself. That seemed to set the pattern to their relationship at first - Heero was always running away. 

But, after a while, Heero stopped running. He had joined the preventors and been assigned as her bodyguard after the Mariemaia affair. He had set up security systems first for Relena's home and office, and eventually for the entire Preventor network. As time passed, his expertise was called on more and more by Lady Une, and now he was an expert in cyber-terrorist prevention. And he had become a good friend to Relena, someone who was willing to listen to her ranting in frustration over a delegate idiocy, someone that understood the strain of her position. Their relationship was still platonic, but Relena was ever hopeful of something more. 

Heero had been away on assignment for what seemed a very long time. Lady Une had needed him to infiltrate the computer systems of an organisation that she considered had too few loyalties to ESUN or the colonies. Heero had agreed to go on this assignment leaving Relena's security in the capable hands of Wufei. Days had become weeks that had become months and Relena had had no contact from Heero. Her strength was slowly evaporating, headaches becoming more frequent, serenity was becoming harder to achieve. 

"Oh, sod this!" she exclaimed abruptly, opening her eyes and whirling around. She stormed back into her room, slamming the door so that the glass threatened to break. She opened a cabinet, one of many that lined her office, and pulled out a bottle of gin. She poured a measure into a glass and splashed in some tonic. Releena then settled back in her leather chair, put her feet up on her desk and took a sip, closing her eyes as the alcohol tingled on her tongue and burnt her throat. 

"Ahhh, that's better" she murmured. 

"Since when did you start drinking on your own?" said a monotone voice behind her chair. 

"Whaaa-" Relena nearly toppled out of her chair backwards, her eyes flashed open and she found herself staring up into the eyes of ... 

...."Heero..." 


	2. Chapter two

Chapter Two 

Standard Disclaimer: Do not own Gundam Wing, etc…. 

Chapter Two 

Relena jumped up from her chair and dropped the glass on her wooden desk causing the contents to slosh over the glasses edge onto the glossy service of her table. She ignored the mess and threw her arms around Heero, hugging him tightly. 

"Oh Heero" she smiled "Its so good to see you!" She felt his arms snake around her waist and hug her back, and she closed her eyes content with the sensation of being held. She pulled back to look up at his face and Heero released his hug, sliding his hands back to her arms, which he held gently. 

Heero looked at her closely. He felt concerned at the pallor of her skin and the dark circles under her eyes. She always works too hard, he thought. Peace is something to be striven for, but this woman just gives and gives. He gave her a small lopsided smile. 

"Oh, I have missed you!" Relena grinned back at him, and gave him another squeeze before pulling away completely. "Have you eaten? Is your assignment over? You look tired, when did you last get some decent sleep? Are you reassigned back to me?" 

"Yes, yes, no I'm not, yes" Heero frowned "The assignment is over, and I have been reassigned back here. You look tired, when did you last get some rest? I hear the Martian talks have proven to be difficult" 

Relena raised an eyebrow questioning how he knew. Heero smirked. "Wufei…." He had just come from relieving Wufei of his post. "He said that you had been suffering from headaches, and were not working out hard enough to rid yourself of them" 

"Hhmmpf" Relena snorted in disdain "I have been working my butt off literally to satisfy him" She gestured at her trim bottom and grinned at Heero's eyes gliding down to regard that particular piece of her anatomy. She playfully slapped his arm to bring his attention back to her face. "Yes, these talks are difficult - but we are getting there. I hope to have general agreement by the end of the week. If these people can just stick to their resolve over the next couple of months and not find something else to argue about, we ought to have a working agreement signed." She picked up her glass and lifted it to her lips "And that would be something to drink to! Do you want something to drink, Heero?" she asked after she had had a sip. 

Heero shook his head, and glanced at the clock on the wall. Gone 0100 hrs.. He took the glass out of her hand and put it back on the table. "No good for a nightcap, alcohol interferes with your natural pattern of sleep." he said, then took Relena's arm, and led her to the door of her office. "Bed" he said, leading her down the hall towards her living quarters. 

Opening the door to her room, she noted how his training took over as he quickly scanned the room. Without hesitation he had motioned her to stay behind him, hand hovering near the gun that Relena knew him to carry under his jacket. He entered the room softly, head turning to check behind the door, eyes darting around the edges of the room. He pulled the curtains closed before turning on her bedside lamp, then motioned for her to enter the room. 

"You need sleep, and you need it now" he said walking to and then opening the bathroom door, checking, then pushing Relena in. "We can catch up in the morning." He pulled the door to and waited as he listened to the sounds of her brushing her teeth and changing. The bathroom door opened once again, and she emerged in pyjamas and robe. She had taken her hair out of the bun, brushed it and was in the process of braiding it into a plait. She grinned at his expression. "Duo has started a fashion trend" she said. 

The furthest thing from Heero's mind at that point was Duo. Relena looked beautiful dressed in simple blue satin pyjamas and matching robe - beautiful, vulnerable and more than a little sexy. 

Relena walked to her bed, pulled off her robe and settled down between the cool linen sheets. She felt completely as ease with Heero in her room, and had long since forgotten the nervousness she had originally felt when Heero saw her in her bed or in her nightwear. For Heero it was the opposite. Initially Relena had been a mission and he had no qualms about seeing her in any situation or state of dress. Lately, however, Heero had been discovering that seeing Relena in her nightwear and in her bedroom lead to a significant lack of concentration on current mission parameters, and a good deal of imagining about things he ought not to. 

"It really is so good to have you home" Relena said softly. She closed her eyes as Heero reached for the light switch on the lamp beside her bed "Will you stay until I sleep" she asked, opening one eye to watch him. Heero nodded and bent down and kissed her on her forehead. His mouth lingered there aching to slide down and kiss her mouth. He pulled away, getting himself under control. Relena has her own mission to work on, he thought, I cannot distract her with my own wants. 

"Good night." he said and he switched out the light, settling into a chair near the window. 

Relena screwed her eyes shut in frustration as Heero moved away, then sighed lightly as the throb of her headache eased away "Night…" she breathed, then was asleep. 

Morning dawned, bright and cheerful. Relena stretched languidly in bed, slowly wakening from the first refreshing sleep she had had in months. She smiled and touched her forehead when Heero had kissed her, then seeing the time on her bedside clock cursed - she would be late for the talks. She leapt out of bed, had a shower in record time, was dressed and made up 20 minutes later. 

Relena ran to the kitchen where Pagan was waiting with her morning coffee. Greeting him, she took the cup and tried to drink it quickly, burning her lips in the process. 

"Relax, Relena" came a voice from behind her "They won't start the talks without you". Relena turned and saw Heero, dressed in his preventors uniform, leaning up against the kitchen doorframe, arms crossed and looking very relaxed "How is the head?" he asked. 

"Morning Heero" Relena responded, waving away the toast that Paygan was trying to offer her "Headache is completely gone, thank you!" 

Heero unfolded from the door, walked over to Paygan and took the toast from him. Turning to Relena he held the warm buttered toast up to her mouth "Eat" he ordered. 

"Heero, I don't have time for -hmmp" Relena was cut off by Heero pushing the toast into her open mouth. 

"I am sure you have heard it from Sally many times, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. You are getting too thin" Heero glared at her until she started chewing. Relena glared back at him, but finished the toast. "Paygan, do you have tea?" Heero asked the butler. 

"Of, course Sir." Paygan moved to pour a cup of English Breakfast tea, smiling as he had not been able to get Relena to have more than a cup of black coffee for breakfast in months. 

"Pour two cups." Heero requested, pulling the coffee cup from Relena's hand and pouring the contents down the sink. 

"Heero - my coffee!" Relena cried, "I hadn't finished it" 

"Tea is much better for mornings" Heero replied "You shouldn't rely on stimulants." 

Relena took the tea from Paygan, and again glared at Heero. Inside, she was smiling. It was wonderful to be looked after by him, she calculated that her inner serenity must be full to over flowing by now. Heero raised an eyebrow and Relena realised that she must have been staring at him. She took a sip of tea and grimaced, not the thing to wake her up in the morning. She glanced at the clock again, took another sip of tea then put the cup down. 

"Time to make a move." She said. 

"Fine." Heero agreed, picking up another piece of toast. "You can eat this in the car" 

"Well, she certainly looks more cheerful today!" Sally studied Relena, who was busy negotiating with a delegate from L16. The old Relena seemed to be back as she deftly turned the argument around in such a charming, disarming way that the delegate could only nod his agreement and sit down slightly dazed as to how he had initially considered that Relena was wrong. 

"Heero is the strength of that woman." Wufei nodded his agreement "It is good to see her looking strong once again." 

Sally turned her attention to Heero, who was sitting next to Relena. He seemed to concentrate on his ever-present laptop, but Sally knew that his attention was really on surveying the room around the woman he was sworn to protect. He looked at Relena as she stood up. 

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Relena began "I believe that we have come to a satisfactory agreement here. We have made great progress towards true peace and understanding between our nations and I truly look forward to our next meeting when we will put our signatures on this very positive agreement." Relena looked at all the faces turned towards her "This conference has been an honour and a privilege to attend, I thank you." As she stood down from the podium, the delegates all stood up and started to applaud her. 

"Ah, yes." Said Sally smiling "She certainly has the touch." 

Sally and Wufei made their way past the exiting delegates to the podium, where Relena was packing papers away into her briefcase and Heero was closing his laptop and replacing it in his bag. Relena gave the two a big smile, looked around to make sure no one was within ear shot. 

"Phew!" she whispered "I am so pleased that is finished with!" she stretched her arms above her head "I am so hungry - do you want to join us for some late lunch?" 

"Er, more like early dinner." Sally grinned "Sounds good! What about you Wufei?" 

"I have training I wish to perform" Wufei frowned at her "Onna, you should also be training, not eating - your desk job is making you fat!" 

Relena looked at Wufei, stunned at his rudeness, even Heero looked a little taken aback, but Sally laughed. "Better fat than puny like you, Wufei" she said. 

"Hmmmf" Wufei scowled "Injustice!". 

Just then the digital tones of a phone ringing interrupted the conversation. All four of them pulled out phones to check if theirs was ringing. It was Sally's and she walked away from the other three to take the call. 

"Come on Wufei" Relena coaxed him "Do come out, I very rarely get social time with Sally and you know that she wont come without you! And Heero will have to come with us and he would be completely bored in the company of two Onnas!". 

Heero raised an eyebrow to this, but didn't argue. He knew Relena was expert at negotiating, and these were the sort of arguments that Wufei would agree to. 

"Very well Minister" he conceded. "I will attend to save Heero from listening to womans chattering". 

Relena smiled "Oh Wufei, you are too kind!" 

Sally walked back over to them, tucking her phone away in her jacket. She looked pale and preoccupied, and Relena immediately looked concerned "What is wrong Sally?" she asked. 

"I'm afraid it is bad news, Relena" Sally eyes were glassy with tears. "Mariemaia is dead." 

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	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three 

Chapter Three 

"God, she was so young!" Hilde's pale face was peering out of the screen on the vid phone "I can hardly believe it! Was there no warning at all, no symptoms…?" 

Relena shook her head. This was the last of the calls she was making on behalf of Lady Une, who had been so affected by the death of her ward that she had been sedated by Sally. Une had given Relena a list of people who she wanted to be informed of the teenagers death, and Relena had been dutifully working through the list all afternoon into the early evening. 

"No, apparently not." Relena said "Sally said that Mariemaia had a congenital heart condition - hypertrophic cardiomyopathy . Apparently it's just not that easy to spot. If she had been lucky, she would have developed symptoms of chest pains, palpitations or shortness of breath. That could have lead to a diagnosis. I'm afraid Mariemaia was one of the very unlucky few who had no symptoms. It was very sudden, Sally said that even if she had been in the hospital there would have been very little that could have been done." 

Duo's face appeared next to Hilde, his arm draped around her shoulder in support. 

"How's Une doing, Princess?" he asked, his normally cheerful face very sombre. 

"Not so good, I'm afraid Duo." Relena replied "She is resting now. She doted so on poor Mariemaia, she really considered her to be her daughter. Une hasn't any other family." 

"When is the funeral to be?" asked Hilde "I would like to send some flowers." 

"I don't know." Relena said, shaking her head "Une is in no condition at the moment to arrange anything. As soon as I hear anything I can email you" 

"Yup, do that Princess." Duo said "And give Une our condolences. Ah, long time no see Heero!" Duo waved, and Relena half turned to see Heero standing behind her. "How ya doing, pal?" 

"Fine" Heero nodded at Hilde, and handed Relena a glass of water. It was only then that Relena realised her voice was hoarse from talking for so long. Hilde smiled at her in sympathy. 

"You go have some rest Relena." she said "You know, it would be nice to see you in person again soon. Maybe you should put in for some leave and come visit after the funeral" 

"A holiday!" Relena grinned "Don't hold your breath! Take care guys, and I'll email you when I know more." Relena waved and terminated the call. She sighed deeply and took a sip of the water and felt Heero's hands on her shoulders. 

"It doesn't seem real." she said "Mariemaia was so young and was doing so well with her life. You know, I was talking to her only last week - she wanted to come and do some work experience in the Ministry. She said that she had decided that she wanted to be a diplomat. Une was so proud of her. It's just not fair" 

Tears trickled down her face, and she wiped them away sniffing and sipped more of the water. 

Heero was silent, he didn't know what to say to comfort Relena. Death was nothing new to either of them, but a young girls life being lost to natural causes in peacetime seemed to him to be very perverse. 

"Nothing could have been done" he finally said "She lived a very full life for one so young" 

"Full - yes I suppose she did. She managed to be a dictator by the age of eight, goodness knows what she could have achieved as an adult." Relena laughed, then put her hand over her mouth startled that she could joke about Mariemaia. 

"Relena, you need your rest now" Heero said "Anyone who you haven't contacted yet?" 

"Only Millardo" Relena said, stretching aching muscles "The link to Mars is flakey tonight, I thought I would try later. Will you ask Sally how Une is doing?" 

"…" Heero nodded "I will let you know when she wakes - you get some sleep" 

Relena gratefully followed orders. 

The next morning Relena found that the vid-phone link to Mars was still down. Frowning with disappointment that she couldn't talk to Millardo, she ended up sending an old-fashioned text message to her brother. Once it was dispatched Relena went to visit Lady Une, with Heero accompanying her as security. 

Une lived in a small flat that was filled with photographs and portraits of her dead love Treize, father of Mariemaia. Relena always felt a little uncomfortable in the living room with so many eyes seeming to scrutinise her from the walls. Une let Relena in, whilst Heero remained outside the front door. Une was alone. She was pale, her hair was loose and tangled and her clothes looked crumpled as if she had slept in them. Relena gave Une a hug, but Une's arms remained by her side. 

Relena hesitated for a minute, then led Une into the living room and made her sit on the couch. Une did so passively and made no effort to talk. 

"Lady Une, have you eaten this morning?" Relena asked, sitting down beside the woman. Une was staring towards the portrait of Treize that dominated the room. She shook her head. 

"I cant eat" she replied quietly. "I feel sick when I try." 

"Perhaps some tea…?" Relena offered. Une nodded her agreement, and Relena, feeling relieved at being able to do something, went to the kitchen to make a pot. When she returned to the living room Une was standing at the fireplace looking up at the portrait of Trieze. In it he was in full dress uniform, a faint smile on his lips, and in his hand he held a rose. 

Relena poured a cup of tea and held it out to Une. Une ignored her, her hand reaching up and caressing the picture frame. 

"He will never forgive me." She murmured. "Treize will never forgive me for letting Mariemaia down." 

Relena put the cup down on the tray. 

"Une." She said firmly taking hold of the hand touching the portrait and pulling it away "It was not your fault. You cannot blame yourself for something that no one could predict." 

Une sighed and closed her eyes and bent her head forward so that her hair covered her face. "I miss her so much Relena. She is…was my little girl, my baby. She was so gifted, so good. I keep thinking why. Why did this happen." Une started to rock back and forward gently. "I keep thinking if only I had noticed something. Did I miss her being out of breath. Perhaps she was having chest pain and just didn't tell me. Why wouldn't she tell me, Relena? Was it because I was being a bad mother to her? Did I let her down? Would she have been happier if she hadn't come to live with me? Would she have been alive if she hadn't been with me?" 

Une was becoming increasingly more agitated. She was openly crying and her hands were clenched into fists. At each question she asked she was hitting her thighs. Relena hugged her tightly. "Hush.." she tried to comfort the woman. "No Une, you did your best for Mariemaia and she loved living here with you - she told me so. Please stop Une! Don't do this to yourself. Please, sit down and try and be calm." Relena managed to manoeuvre Une back into a chair and then handed her the cup of tea. 

Une's hands were shaking as she held the cup so that it rattled on the saucer. She lifted the cup to her lips and sipped it slowly and gradually her shaking eased. Relena sat on the arm of the chair, her arm around Une's shoulders. She was quiet, knowing that Une would talk if she needed to. 

When Relena finally left a couple of hours later, Heero was still at his post by the front door. 

"How is she?" he asked as they walked towards the car. 

"She is taking it hard." Relena sighed "I called Sally and asked her to come over and check on Une later. Une has asked that the funeral be private, family only and no flowers." 

Heero looked surprised "I thought she had no family." 

"She doesn't." Relena confirmed "But that is how she wants it. Just her, Mariemaia and the celebrant." Relena ran her fingers through her hair and looked back towards the flat. She could see Une's silhouette in the window and Relena waved to her as she got into the car. Une didn't move. "I'm going to ring Sally and ask her to come sooner rather than later." 

************************************************ 

"Woman." Wufei bent his head near to Sally "Lady Une wants to see us this afternoon after this conference is wound up" 

Sally looked at him in surprise, Une had only returned to official duties that day, two weeks after Mariemaia's funeral. Sally had been concerned with the state of Une's health prior to the funeral and had recommended that Une have an extended leave of absence from the Preventors. Une had declined and had taken the statutory two week bereavement leave. She had left her apartment immediately after the funeral saying that she needed to get away. Sally had not seen or heard from Une since that day. 

"My understanding is that she wishes to send us on an undercover mission". 

"What!" Sally hissed "I don't do missions anymore! I'm the resident medical officer, not some new entrant keen to prove himself." 

Wufei snorted. 

"Typical!" He said "You should be honoured that Lady Une does not consider you too old to do field work". 

Sally glared at him, - old indeed! She was only a couple of years his senior and he was not above checking out her body when they were both using the gym. She waited until he was not paying attention to her and swiftly elbowed him in the stomach - hard. He bent over, clutching his stomach trying to catch his breath. 

"Old indeed" Sally muttered as she stalked off. 

"Injustice!" Wufei tried to call after her, but being winded only managed a weak whisper. 

That afternoon found them sitting in Lady Une's office, nursing coffees that Une's secretary had provided them with. Sally watched Une closely trying to determine her state of health both mental and physical. 

"Thank you for coming." Lady Une said, sitting opposite them behind her large oak desk. She placed both her hands on the smooth table surface, and raised her eyes to Wufei. "I have a special assignment that I want you both to undertake. It will involve infiltrating a group that we have concerns about. This will be of special interest to you Wufei as the group is calling itself "The Dragon Clan". 

"Dragon Clan!" Wufei sucked his breath in "This cannot be - I am the last of the Dragon Clan" 

"Yes, well, I am aware of your background" Une frowned at him "That is why I have selected you for this task. This mission requires someone with knowledge of your clan, its history and policies. I understand that you had a high profile in your clan prior to the destruction of the colony - I am assuming that if these people are part of your clan they will remember you and make your infiltration - or return - to the clan that more easy. If the group is only using your clans name, then you will have to tackle the infiltration in a different way". 

Sally shifted in her seat and placed her coffee cup on the table. 

"In what capacity do you want me to go" she asked Lady Une "I have not been out in the field in the last five years, and would have thought I would have been of more use here, remaining as Relena's physician" 

Lady Une was looking at the cup, she rose slightly from her chair and picked the cup up, moving it to sit on some papers. She rubbed at the ring that the offending cup had left on her table. 

"You and Wufei work well as a team. You have been a team ever since Wufei joined the Preventors, I see no reason to split you up now.." Une said slowly "You need not worry about Miss Relena, I have arranged for a physician to replace you." Une held up a hand forestalling the protest that Sally had been about to make "I have had checks done on this man and he is safe and eminently qualified. Relena's health will be treasured as always." 

Sally glanced at Wufei. Wufei was ignoring her. 

"You leave in two days time". Une signed the orders, handed them to Sally and stood indicating that the meeting was over. Sally and Wufei got up, saluted, and left her office. 

"Relena has Heero." Wufei said softly as they walked up the hall "She will be safe". 

Sally nodded, but felt foreboding. Something wasn't right. She glanced down at the messy signature of Lady Une. She didn't like this feeling, at all. 

Back in Lady Une's office, Une took her glasses off and surveyed the paper work in front of her. She had a lot of signing to do 

"Do you think they suspect anything?" Une signed a document in the scrawling messy signature, identical to the one on Sally's orders. 

Une shook her head "No" she said "They will follow orders like the good preventors they are. You were right - a new Dragon Clan was just the right thing to entice Wufei away. Sally may initially object but she will be keen to follow her man." She signed the next document. The signature was tight, elegant, flowing. 

"He is so predictable" scrawling signature. 

"It is as well he is, this makes Relena's isolation so much easier" neat signature 

Une slumped back in her chair, looking around her empty office. She closed her eyes, a thin smile stretched across her face. Her fingers tapped the side of her chair drumming a slow regular beat. 

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	4. Chapter Four

New Chapter Four 

Chapter Four 

Heero frowned. His computer display showed a smiling image of Dr Basil Holt. The bio of the man showed that he came from a distinguished family, he excelled at medical school, had become an eminent surgeon at a relatively young age. He had specialised in paediatric heart surgery and had developed a number of new techniques including the "Holt Shunt". Dr Holt had had to give it up after being caught in a blast during the war - a blow to his head had caused trauma induced epilepsy which precluded him from ever being able to safely perform surgery again. After the war he had worked as a Consultant for a little time before branching out into research and a private practice. The man had never been in trouble with the law, ever. No parking fines, speeding tickets, nothing. 

Heero sighed, and closed his laptop. Basil Holt was also a friend of Millardo Peacecraft who had initially recommended him for the position of physician to Relena. Millardo had sent a communication stating that he was concerned for Relena's health and wanted nothing but the best for her, she was after all his only living relative. Dr Holt had accepted the position as a personal favour to Millardo. 

Lady Une had also personally recommended this man. Lady Une was Heero's commander and had the trust and respect of everyone. So why was he getting this bad gut feeling. He grimaced. Maybe it was because Relena was a little too enthusiastic for the Doctor. 

Sally and Wufei had been gone four weeks, and in that time Dr Holt had dismissed all recommendations that Sally had put in place for Relena. Initially Relena had been cautious, but now she was following his program whole-heartedly. Heero had wanted to contact Sally to seek her advice, but Lady Une had forbidden it. Sally and Wufei were in deep cover she said and there was no way he was to put them in jeopardy. 

Heero looked across to where Relena was sitting at her desk. Her head was resting on one hand, elbow on the table. She was studying some documents, chewing the top of her pen. Occasionally she would tisk or snort, shake her head and make notes in the margin of the document. Relena was so engrossed in what she was doing, she didn't notice Heero studying her. Heero smiled, a rare smile, enjoying that he could watch her close up without having to meet those blue eyes. 

He moved back in his chair, it creaked softly and Relena looked up startled. 

"What?" she said, startled to catch him smiling. 

Heero stopped smiling, but still studied her. 

"You are looking better" he said "Headaches not bothering you?" 

Relena grinned and shook her head. 

"As much as I respect Sally and Wufei, Dr Holt seems to have done me more good in one week that they did in a couple of months. I certainly feel a lot more energetic!" she laughed "All down to a simple vitamin and mineral deficiency" 

"Hmmm" Heero frowned. He didn't like the idea of miracle cures in bottles. Relena's safety was paramount to him and it would be remiss of him not to check and double-check every aspect of her security. And to prevent her being argumentative and possibly becoming upset with him for his suspicions, he would just have to be covert. He would secure a tablet and have it analysed. 

Relena smiled at him, then turned back to her paper work. Heero stood and noted that Relena's attention remained on her paperwork. He moved slowly over to small cabinet on which Relena's briefcase sat open. He looked through the window next to the cabinet as if surveying the grounds outside, but his eyes flicked quickly down at the contents of the case. A couple of manila folders marked confidential, some pens, a small packet of peppermints and a little brown bottle containing Relena's vitamin pills. 

Heero glanced back at Relena. She was still occupied with her work. Heero moved his body so that the briefcase was shielded from her view. He picked up the bottle and placed it in his pocket, and moved past the briefcase in a carefully choreographed movement. 

"Heero?" asked Relena, her voice questioning. 

"Hmm?" Heero felt an unfamiliar feeling of guilt and turned to look at her thinking that he had been observed. He kept his expression blank. Relena was shuffling through some files on her desk and wasn't even looking in his direction. 

"Have you seen, oh never mind - got it." She retrieved a blue folder that had been hidden under the general clutter of her desk. "I really must get this organised." She muttered to herself. 

Heero returned to his laptop and reopened it. The screen hid his hands from Relena's view. He quickly took out the bottle of tablets, opened it and removed one pill, which he slipped back into his jacket. He closed the bottle again and confident that Relena's attention was wholly on her work, he returned the bottle to her briefcase under the pretence of again looking out of the windows surveying the grounds. 

In her office, several floors away, Lady Une turned off the video screen that had been monitoring the couple. 

"Time to act now, I think…." She grinned, and flicked on her personal secure coms unit. "Heero is getting too close. We need to distract him now." She paused listening to the answer "I will leave it to you then, Sir." She terminated the call and leaned back in her chair smiling with satisfaction 

Later that day Heero was irritated and angry. He had just finished a briefing with Lady Une who had informed him of an assassination attempt on Quatre's life on L1. His new temporary assignment was to find out how a bomb had been set in Quatre's personal sanctuary without Quatre's very impressive and enthusiastic security noticing. Heero had protested, but Lady Une had been adamant - he was the only one for the job. 

"I know you are worried about Relena." Lady Une had comforted him "But she is in the best possible hands here. I will double the amount of protection that she usually has if it will make you feel better" 

It didn't, but orders were orders. And if he wanted to remain a Preventor, then he would have to follow them. Now he had to tell Relena that he was leaving again. He found Relena in the gym, jogging on a treadmill. She was pushing herself, breathing hard, her face rosy with excerption and sweat starting to trickle down the side of her face. 

"…. Heero…." she acknowledged him with a smile, which turned into a grimace as she looked at the timer "…five… more…. minutes…." 

Heero leaned up against a wall and crossed his arms, content to watch her. She was certainly taking her fitness seriously of late, fifty minutes of aerobic activity each day, followed by weight training and stretching. She seemed to abound with energy. Her pace started to slow as she entered the warm down period. Heero's attention was drawn down to her body which was snugly encased in black lycra leggings and a black lycra crop top that revealed her tight stomach. He started to imagine what it would feel like to put his hands around her waist, pull her body towards him, run his fingers up her spine…. 

"…Uh..", he looked at the ground, she was just too distracting. "Dam, just keep your imagination away from the mission Yuy" he thought, then frowned remembering that from this afternoon she wasn't his mission. 

"What's up" Relena had finished and walked over to him, wiping her face with a towel and sipping from a water bottle "You look angry". 

"There has been an attempt on Quatre's life" Heero said bluntly "Une wants me to go and baby-sit him for a while". 

"God, is he alright?" Relena asked, looking relieved when Heero nodded. "What happened?" 

"There was a bomb" Heero told her "Quatre's security can't work out how his home was infiltrated, apparently they are very worried." 

Relena didn't say anything. She caught his hand with her own and held it to her flushed face, looking into his eyes. 

"I don't want you to go." she whispered. "I am going to miss you." Heero didn't reply, but didn't take his hand away either. Relena bit her lip. "You do know how much I care for you, don't you Heero." She smiled wistfully as he pulled back startled and Relena let her hand drop down to her side. "Oh, Heero, why do you always run from me - am I that horrible" 

Heero felt very unsure of what to do next. He reached out and slowly drew her into his arms and held her tightly. 

"Don't be ridiculous." he said, "You know how important you are to me" 

Relena pulled away, her eyes now flashing with anger 

"Ridiculous am I? No, I don't know how important I am - please tell me Heero" she crossed her arms glaring at him "Am I important as a former monarch, am I important as a minister, or is it because I am your mission". 

Heero growled and pulled her back into his arms. 

"You are important for all those reasons" he said, holding her tighter as she started to struggle "You are important because you bought peace to this world and the colonies, you are important because you maintain the peace- stop it Relena, let me finish!" Relena stopped struggling and Heero loosened his hold on her, and tilted her head back by pulling her hair gently so he could look into her eyes "Those are all aspects of who you are. You are important because you gave me a second chance - to be human again, to have emotions, to be loved and to love. I have feelings for you Relena, but I cant take priority over the peace, I cant distract you from the job you have to do" he smirked "At least, not yet". 

Heero looked distant for a few seconds then looked back at Relena "Promise me something." he said, looking at her intently. Relena nodded "Be careful, Une will assign you the best security she has, but no going anywhere without them" 

Relena smiled her agreement "Of course, I promise I will be careful and will not leave them behind." 

Heero took a deep breath, and pulled her into his arms, bent his head by hers and whispered in her ear "Will you wait for me?" he asked feeling an insecurity that he had not felt before. "I don't know how long I will be gone, but when I get back-". 

Relena pulled back and put her fingers to his lips, making a shushing noise. 

"Heero, I will always wait for you." 

Heero captured her hand with his and kissed her fingers gently. Then he pulled them away and bent down touching his lips to hers, kissing her softly. When Relena responded the kiss deepened with increasing passion. Relena closed her eyes wrapped in warmth and love, her heart beating more wildly than it did when she exercised. She felt Heero's lips leave hers and when she had opened her eyes again she found he had gone. Sighing deeply, she traced her fingers over her own swollen lips, trying to relive the moment, a tear escaped her eye and trailed down her face. 

"Be safe" she murmured. Unknown to her, Heero was also whispering the same two words as he made his way out of the building. 

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	5. Chapter Five

Chapter Six 

Warnings: Mild bad language. 

Chapter Five 

As soon as Heero's shuttle had departed earth's atmosphere he sent email to Wufei. The pilots had long since agreed to monitor a secure email account when on missions, so that if any emergencies came up they could be informed even whilst undercover. He smirked as he worked, - what Lady Une didn't know wouldn't hurt her. Heero then contacted Quatre to let him know that he was on his way. Quatre acknowledged his call, but seemed a trifle preoccupied and rather pale. 

"I'll have some people pick you up at the terminal" Quatre said "We can discuss details of the incident once you are here" 

Heero then contacted Trowa, who expressed surprise at the assassination attempt on Quatre. Heero was also surprised that Trowa had not been informed, after all both Quatre and Trowa lived in the same colony and they were very good friends. 

"Interesting" Trowa said, as always brief in his speech "I will not mention that I am aware of what is going on. Keep me informed" 

Next to be contacted was Duo. Heero hoped that Duo or Hilde could be persuaded to visit Relena for a while. 

"Sorry, buddy, no can do" Duo shook his head. "Une has me knee deep in paper work at the moment, and it would be worth more than my life if I didn't get it finished by her dead line." Duo noticed Heero's grim expression "Une's got the best people looking after the little lady, relax - nothings gonna happen." He tried to be reassuring. 

"Hnn" Heero crossed his arms and frowned. 

"Look, I'll have a word with Hilde - she is always going on about how she would like to spend some time with Relena, perhaps she can swing some leave" Duo grinned "Can't promise anything, but I'll give it a go." 

Heero saw a red light flashing indicating an incoming transmission. He said his thanks to Duo and terminated the call, before accepting the incoming one. The transmission was on a secure line, and when Heero inputted the correct codes he was surprised to see Wufei's face. 

"Thought you were undercover" he said raising an eyebrow. 

"Hmmf" Wufei snorted "The whole mission so far as been a wild goose chase. We haven't even been able to locate the clan yet. I think Lady Une's informant was less reliable than she thought. What do you want Yuy?" 

Heero quickly related Quatre's status and it was Wufei's turn to look surprised. 

"Someone got a bomb past his security - now that's impressive." Wufei looked serious "And he hasn't informed Trowa about it, that I don't understand." 

"Is Sally there?" Heero asked, pulling out a pill from his pocket and twirling it between his thumb and index finger. 

"Not at the moment." Wufei shook his head. "Something you want me to relate to her?" 

"I'm not happy about the medication Relena has been put on" Heero held up the tablet "Supposedly a vitamin and mineral tablet. I need to get access to a lab and have it analysed, but based on Relena's behaviour of late I think it may contain stimulants. Can you ask her if she had prescribed anything like that." 

"I'll check" Wufei nodded "I suggest that we communicate again in 24 hours." 

"Agreed" Heero said, and terminated the call. He placed the pill back in his pocket, and folded his arms over his chest closing his eyes. Time enough for a quick sleep before docking procedures on L1. He cleared his mind of thought, relaxing. He started replaying the last kiss he had with Relena in his mind, analysing each sweet adrenaline forming moment. 

…. Relena…. 

True to his word Quatre had arranged for Heero to be met at the port by a chauffeured limousine. Heero was transported in style to Quatre's mansion, a butler showing him to his room where he was told to wait for Master Quatre's summons. Heero raised his eyebrow. Since when did he have to wait for Quatre. 

Heero opened his laptop and started another search on Dr Holt. Perhaps there was something he had missed. While the search was progressing, he typed a brief email to Relena letting her know that he was now at Quatre's in case she had to get him urgently. 

An hour after Heero had arrived the butler knocked on his door and asked Heero to follow him. Heero secured his laptop before following the servant down the stairs. He was led to a spacious office in which Quatre was sitting behind a large desk and the head of Quatre's security was sitting in one of the comfortable armchairs in front of it. 

"Heero" Quatre stood up and shook his hand "Sorry to keep you waiting but I had Colony business. Lady Une has informed me that you are to investigate the bomb. I hope you can come up with more than Rimu has" 

Rimu, the security chief, had the grace to look embarrassed. 

"Well, I have to admit it is a complete mystery to us just how the devise got past our security and was placed undetected in Master Quatre's office." Rimu shook his head "The dam thing wasn't even small, the unit looked to be bigger than a brief case. Someone has amazing skills at smuggling to pull this off" 

"Hmmm" Heero had sat down in the chair next to Rimu "I would have said that your security was the very best there is. I was surprised that this occurred. I take it that you haven't gone public on this". 

Quatre shook his head. "No" he said, "That would be a mistake. It would give the impression that we are vulnerable." 

"Seems to me you are." Heero smirked at Quatre's expression. "Anyway, to work. Let's start on security footage" 

Heero frowned. In two days of searching through tapes, sifting through the rubble of Quatre's office, interviewing security and checking computer systems, he had come up with absolutely nothing. Heero had tried to consult with Quatre on a number of occasions, but each time he was politely informed that Quatre was busy and would talk to him later. Heero had stopped working the fifth time he was informed that Quatre was otherwise occupied. 

Heero had then checked to see if Relena had replied to his email to her. He found that she hadn't even opened it. Heero felt immediate concern, as that was not like Relena. He initiated a call to Relena's office. Her secretary answered and informed Heero that Relena was busy and would talk to him later. 

Heero terminated the call annoyed. He sent email to Wufei who had not been in contact since the shuttle call, and then called Duo. An answer phone message played with a cheerful Duo waving saying that he wasn't in and please leave a message. Heero did leave a message, a death glare of the finest calibre. He terminated the connection and sighed. It just wasn't his day. 

A knock at his door interrupted his musing. Heero, always cautious, checked his gun tucked in the back of his trousers, and slowly opened the door. Rimu nodded and walked in without waiting for an invitation. He quietly moved to the centre of the room and placed a device on the table and activated it. Heero hid his surprise as he recognised it as a device that would interfere with anyone trying to monitor speech and activity within the room. 

"I suggest you use this from now on" Rimu said abruptly "Master Quatre has ordered that transmissions from your room be monitored" Rimu took a deep breath looking ashamed "Master Quatre is not himself." 

That got Heero's interest. He shifted his hand away from his gun. 

"Explain" he said. 

Rimu shook his head "It is hard to define. But he doesn't seem to care about his people as he once did. He has cancelled all meetings with Master Trowa and Miss Dorothy, the two people he has always demanded that are admitted as soon as they call. He has changed the policies that he supports in the council." 

"He advocates pacifism" Heero interrupted. 

"No, not now. He has even decided not to sign the Martian Trade Agreement in its final form" Rimu shook his head "He is just not acting like himself." 

"Did he suffer a head injury in the blast?" Heero asked, thinking that may be the cause of his altered behaviour. 

"No, no" Rimu shook his head "He was no where near the blast, he suffered no injury at all." 

Heero was again surprised. He had assumed from what Lady Une had told him that Quatre had been very lucky to survive. What Rimu said next stunned Heero into complete silence. 

"Master Quatre changed when Lady Une came to visit him a couple of weeks ago". 

Rimu had let himself out after that again cautioning Heero to use the dampening field at all times. Heero has sat and stared at the device for a full five minutes. 

Lady Une … Quatre … what the hell was going on here? 

Beeps from his laptop indicating an incoming call roused him from his musings. Heero half hoped it was Relena returning his call, but… 

"Wufei" Heero acknowledged "Not going so well, eh?" Wufei was holding a compress to a bruised face and glared back at Heero. 

"I have had better days Yuy." He said grimly. "We walked into a trap today, barely made it out. Somehow, they knew we were coming. We were set up." 

"Sally?" Heero asked, and saw Sally peer over Wufei's shoulder giving a smile. 

"I'm fine" She said "Wu-chan here caught most of the flack, and I apparently run faster than he does!" 

"Can't understand how they knew we were coming." Wufei shook his head. 

"Have you reported in yet?" asked Heero 

"No, we were going to contact Une next." Wufei winced as Sally took away the old compress and replaced it with a new one. 

"Don't" Heero said 

"What?" Wufei's eyes flashed open, startled. 

"Something is going on, and I think Une is involved." Heero said. He went on to relate what Rimu had said about Quatre and his inability to contact Relena. "Une has also got Duo running rings with paper work" he finished. Wufei smirked. 

"Wufei said you were concerned about Relena" Sally said and Heero nodded "I cannot breach patient confidentiality, but I can tell you that I didn't prescribe her vitamin and mineral supplements and I am surprised that a doctor would. Have you had the tablet analysed yet?" 

Heero shook his head. 

"Try and get it done soon, Wufei and I will meet you on L1 in a couple of days." Sally said 

"What?" Heero and Wufei asked together. 

"Wufei, we have been set up." Sally said calmly. "Une wanted to get us away and she succeeded. I suspect that she decided that she didn't want us back. Now she has got Heero away. Why? I intend to find out. If that bitch wants a bullet in my head, I intend to find out the reason why." 

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	6. Chapter Six

Chapter Eight 

Chapter Six 

Two days later Heero was on his way to rendezvous with the Sally, Wufei, Trowa and Duo. It hadn't been hard to slip away from Quatre's. Heero knew that Quatre had ordered that Heero's movements be monitored and that he was to be followed. However the ease with which he had lost his tail indicated that Rimu had ordered that the surveillance be half hearted. Heero was still careful to lay several false trails to be sure no one was following before going to his true destination. 

He was last to arrive at Dr J's residence, a small flat in a poorer district of the capital of L1. Sally and Wufei were sipping Chinese tea, Duo was drinking coke out of a plastic bottle and Trowa was sitting quietly, arms folded and eyes closed. Dr J sat at a desk looking uncomfortable at having so many people in his small living quarters. 

Dr J very rarely visited the flat during the day, most of his time was spent at his laboratory. However, he was anxious to give as much help to Heero as he could. Whether this was out of friendship or a sense of guilt, Heero didn't know and didn't want to know. Heero and Dr J had rarely contacted each other over the years and Heero had no idea what technology Dr J was currently embroiled in. The fact that Dr J did have a lab made him a valuable to Heero, as Dr J was able to analyse the tablet Heero had taken from Relena. 

"Your finally here." Dr J commented and nodded towards the table "There is an envelope there with your name on it". 

Heero poured himself a tea and picked up the envelope. Opening it he frowned and passed it to Sally. Sally scanned the contents and looked grim. 

"This isn't good" she said "You were right, there is a stimulant in the pills Relena has been given, a number of them actually. I cant believe any doctor would have prescribed these - and the combination contained in one tablet suggests that they were made especially for her." Sally looked at Heero apologetically "Poor Relena must have been buzzing on these." 

"Who is the doctor?" Trowa asked. 

"Dr Basil Holt." Heero said, "His record is clean. I couldn't find anything, and God knows I have been looking. Recommended by both Lady Une and Millardo." 

"Poor Lena." Duo said, slamming down his bottle "So if it is the Doctor drugging her, which seems the likeliest probability, why is he? What's in it for him? Man, if Lena trusts him God knows what he could get away with". 

"I think the bigger problem at this moment is Lady Une." Trowa said calmly. "Why is she isolating Relena? Is she working in conjunction with Dr Holt, or is it just coincidental?" 

"Trowa is right." Heero agreed. "If Lady Une is now our enemy, then we really have trouble. I can't see that all this can be coincidental. Une recommended Holt. They must be working together. And we also have to find out what has happened to Quatre." Trowa nodded at this. 

"Is it possible that Quatre is being drugged? If Dr Basil is drugging Lena on Une's behalf, what's to stop the good Lady Une slipping a couple of pills to Quatre when she was here." Duo asked. 

"There are drugs that modify behaviour, but the drug would have to be continuously administered." Sally said thoughtfully. 

"Rimu informs me that he has monitored Quatre day and night since he became suspicious of his behaviour. No drugs have been consumed, all food and liquids have been checked. He has also performed testing of body wastes and no evidence of drugs have been found." Heero said. Duo wrinkled his nose at the mention of body wastes. 

"Maybe Quatre got tired of being a pacifist." Duo said, "Maybe he decided that he was tired of being Mr GoodyTwoShoes and decided that being the villain was more fun." 

"No!" Trowa was adamant. He glared at Duo and Duo held his arms up in mock surrender 

"Well, if he is not being drugged and he is not being himself, what is making him a world class arse hole" Duo asked. 

Sally looked thoughtful. "I would like to examine him." She said finishing her tea. 

"It might be dangerous getting close to him" Wufei said thoughtfully speaking for the first time, his jaw was still painful from the injury he had gained two days ago. "Une probably knows that we are AWOL now and if she and Quatre are working together she could have warned him. We would need to get past his security." 

Heero snorted "That wont be too difficult, Rimu is more concerned about Quatre's mental health than his physical safety. He would get you in. Would you have everything that you need to examine him there?" 

"No." Sally shook her head "I would need access to proper medical facilities to do a thorough examination." 

Dr J spoke up "You need to bring the boy to my lab." He said, "I have all the equipment you need there." 

"So" Trowa said softly "We just need to get Quatre to agree to go there." 

"Mission accepted" Heero stood up "I'll get him now. Dr J, go to your lab. And take them" he nodded towards the other pilots and Sally "with you. I'll meet you there in a couple of hours." 

"Wow, nothing like striking while the irons hot, buddy" Duo grinned and stood up "But I think you are gonna need a little hand with Quatre. If he really has given up his pacifist ways he is likely to play dirty." 

"I'm coming too." said Trowa, folding his arms. He glared at Heero as if daring him to argue. 

Heero, who was checking his gun, looked up at them both then nodded. 

"Come on, we are wasting time" he almost ran out of the room. Trowa and Duo exchanged glances and ran out after him. 

"Come." said Dr J, ushering Sally and Wufei out. "We have a lot of equipment to set up if you want to give young Quatre a full medical." 

At Quatre's mansion Rimu stood at the top of the steps to the front door and watched the three pilots approach. His arms were crossed and he was frowning. 

"I cannot permit you to harm the Master" he said quietly. "You must give me a guarantee that he will not come to any harm before I will permit you to cross the threshold." 

Heero did not pause, but murmured "Agreed" as he walked passed the man. Duo and Trowa nodded to Rimu and followed Heero. Rimu sighed, turned and followed the pilots. They all walked swiftly to Quatre's temporary office. At the door Heero pulled out his gun and clicked off the safety. He then opened the door without knocking and walked swiftly in. Quatre was at his desk reading some papers. He looked up in surprise at being disturbed, then frowning came to his feet slowly as he surveyed the three pilots and Rimu enter the room. 

"What is this?" he glared at Rimu "I told you I was not to be disturbed." His eyes went to Heero and he smiled at the gun pointed at him "Heero, what is going on? Are you planning to shoot me?" 

"Don't move" Heero said slowly "Quatre, you have not been yourself lately. You will come with us so we can help you." 

"Not myself!" Quatre laughed "Heero, what are you talking about? Put the gun down and let's talk about this in a rational way." 

Heero nodded at Trowa and Duo, both who started to approach Quatre. 

"Hey Buddy!" Duo said, "Long time no see." 

Quatre's eyes were darting from Duo to Trowa to Heero. He suddenly lunged down to his drawer and pulled out a gun. Duo shouted a warning, whilst Trowa dove forward grabbing Quatre's arm. They both toppled backwards. Trowa forced Quatre's hand holding the gun down to the floor, his other arm held across Quatre's throat, pressing down hard. Quatre started to choke, he glared at Trowa with hate filled eyes. Trowa almost pulled back in shock at the hate that emanated from Trowa, but he filled with resolve and held firm. 

"Let. Go. Of. The. Gun" he demanded. Quatre struggled more and Trowa applied more pressure to his throat. Duo looked on a little worried as Quatre's lips started to go blue. 

"Er, Trowa" he said, "Don't kill him Buddy!" 

Heero stood beside the struggling pair then kicked the gun from Quatre's hand. He bent down and picked it up, and put it in the belt of his trousers along with his own gun. 

"Bring him" he ordered and turned and walked out of the room. 

Trowa got off Quatre and he and Duo helped Quatre to his feet. Quatre glared at Rimu. 

"Do something Rimu" he demanded "Get security in here!" 

Rimu looked to his feet. 

"I am sorry Master" he said quietly "I am sure these men will help you." 

Trowa and Duo dragged Quatre from the room and Rimu turned to look away. He stood still, listening to Quatre yells as he was taken down the front steps to the waiting car. Then he stood listening as the car engine gunned into life and the vehicle sped away. When he could hear no more noises, he walked slowly to the desk and picked up the phone. 

"May Allah protect him." He said softly, and started to make calls cancelling Quatre's appointments. 

By the time Heero had driven to Dr Js lab, Trowa and Duo had had to restrain Quatre. Duo had removed his own belt and used it to bind Quatre's arms behind his back. Trowa had sat most of the journey in silence listening to Quatre's cursing and struggles. Finally he snapped. 

"Quatre, if you don't shut up I'm going to hit you until you do shut up." he growled. Quatre immediately was silent and satisfied himself by merely glaring at Trowa. Trowa ignored him and looked out the window. 

"Finally, peace and quiet." Duo said smiling. 

Trowa snorted, finding it amusing that Duo the normal cause of noise should find the silence so soothing. Quatre just glared, flexing his arms against the bonds. The car came to a halt, and Heero opened the driver's door. 

"We are here." he said getting out. He opened Trowa's door and Trowa got out, one hand on Quatre's arm forcing Quatre to slide out after him. Duo slid over the back seat and exited the car holding onto Quatre's other arm. Duo fidgeted and grabbed his trousers with his free hand. 

"Forgot you've got my belt" he grinned "Nearly lost my pants there. Lets hurry up and get inside before I loose my dignity." 

Quatre tensed, preparing to make a run for it, but before he could even move he heard a familiar click by his left ear. He turned his head to see Heero's gun at point blank distance from his head. 

"Don't" Heero said quietly, then motioned them all inside the building. They walked to an elevator and Heero pushed the down button. When the doors slid open they entered. Heero pushed the basement button. He faced a security pad and tapped in a sequence of numbers. A faint green light shone on his face and a digital voice requested his name and code. 

"Heero Yuy, G01" he said. 

"Retinal scan complete, vocal scan complete, code correct, welcome Heero Yuy" the digital voice replied and the lift started moving down. When it finally stopped moving and the doors opened they moved into a large white room crammed with electronic devices and computers. Dr J was waiting for them. 

"Welcome, welcome." He said eyeing Quatre curiously "Nice to see you again, young Quatre." Quatre just glared at him "Well, you might not be glad to see me, but I'm glad to see you boy. Come in, come in, Sally is waiting." 

They moved through the room to another door, which opened into a room with an examination table and trolley set up next to it. Sally looked up from the computer she was working on. 

"Quatre" she smiled, then noticed his arms tied behind his back "Was that necessary?" she questioned. "You will need to untie him for me to perform the examination." 

Heero hesitated, then went behind Quatre and undid the buckle. As soon as Quatre's hands were free, he shoved his elbow into Trowa's gut. Trowa grunted and folded over. Quatre spun and hit Duo in the face. Duo stumbled backwards, arms up and hands made into fists ready to retaliate then tripped over his trousers which, unsecured by belt or hands, and fallen around his ankles. "Aw crap" he said as he fell over backwards. 

Heero had crouched in a defensive position, eyes narrowed waiting for Quatre to attack, but Quatre spun around and grabbed Sally holding her in front of him, his arm around her neck. Her hands pulled on his arm trying to get free, but he was holding too firmly. 

"Now you bastards." Quatre growled "You will allow me to leave here now or I will kill this mad bitch Doctor. Move away from the door." He tightened the hold on Sally so she winced in pain. "I won't hesitate to break her neck, not after what she had been doing." 

Heero, Trowa and Duo all moved slowly away from to the door and Quatre began backing towards it. 

"What do you mean, after what she has been doing?" Trowa asked, trying to keep Quatre's attention on them. 

Quatre backed up a little at a time, glancing over his shoulder at the closed door, his hand reaching out for the doorknob. He laughed. 

"You know exactly what I mean. I wont play these mind games with you" his hand found the knob, turned it and opened the door "You are all in it together, and I will stop you even if I have to kill you all, starting with this woman" 

Quatre backed out the door, then suddenly stopped a stunned look on his face. His eyeballs rolled upwards and he sank to the ground almost taking Sally with him. She stumbled to the side and looked to see Wufei holding a bat in his hand, which he had evidently struck Quatre over the head with. Dr J stood next to Wufei shaking his head. 

"No one threatens my Woman." Wufei frowned. Sally rolled her eyes. 

"Ok, I would agree with you that he is not himself." She said "Lets get him on the examination table - I needed him sedated Wufei, but I had a little more gentle way in mind. Duo - would you mind pulling your trousers up, I know I'm a doctor and have seen it all before, but it still is a little embarrassing." 

Duo felt himself blush and went to find his missing belt. 

Wufei, Trowa and Heero lifted the unconscious Quatre onto the examination table and laid him down gently. Sally ran fingers over Quatre's skull assessing the damage Wufei had caused. 

"He is going to have a hell of a headache when he comes around, but he should be fine" she smiled reassuringly at the pilots. Then she picked up a syringe that was already loaded with a clear solution. She raised it, tapped the side of the tube to make sure no air bubbles remained. "I will sedate him as I originally planned, I don't want him coming to halfway through this. He is just too volatile at the moment." Sally injected the drug into Quatre's forearm, and disposed of the used syringe into a sharps bin. "Right, I'm ready to start. Dr J has agreed to assist. We will call you if we need you." Sally looked from the pilots to the door and the pilots got the hint and filed out. 

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	7. Chapter Seven

Chapter Ten 

Several hours later and Sally opened the door to the examination room. 

"You may want to come and look at this." She said grimly. 

Quatre was still unconscious on the table, and had sensors stuck to pulse points on his body. An ECG machine was to one side with a print out hanging out one end. An echocardiogram machine was next to it with a frozen fuzzy image on the screen. X-ray plates hung on the wall showing Quatre's skull. The pilots looked at the various machines with mounting concern. Sally held her hands up. 

"Don't worry about those." She said, "I wanted to do a full check up on him. He is physically in great shape, no evidence of drugs in his system. I did an x-ray of his skull just to be sure that Wufei's blow didn't cause too much damage". 

"So you are saying that there is nothing wrong with him?" Heero frowned. 

"Well, not exactly wrong." Sally said, "We have found something that shouldn't be there." 

"Explain." Said Trowa. 

"It's cutting edge technology." Sally said "I think that Dr J would be best explaining it to you, it was he who suggested we look there for the cause of Quatre's behavioural change." 

They all looked at Dr J expectantly. 

"Well, its exciting stuff. It appears that young Quatre has been the recipient of nanobot technology. Very interesting stuff, as I said. Someone has introduced a very specialised nanobot to his brain." Dr J started a little too enthusiastically, but he coughed and tried to hide that enthusiasm when he saw the reaction of the pilots " 

"I thought nanobots were designed to attack rogue cells in the body, like cancer." Wufei commented. 

"Yes, that is the common use of nanobots. That and to widen narrowed arteries, target such things as gallstones and kidney stones and such like. Some scientists are even trying to get them to alter DNA, to reprogram the DNA of a person who has a bad gene, say someone who is genetically predisposed to diabetes or heart disease." Dr J said nodding. 

"But these nanobots aren't doing something good, eh Doc?" Duo asked, looking at Quatre frowning. 

"Singular Duo. As in one nanobot, for that is all that is needed in this case. No, I would say that this particular bot is not benefiting Quatre. I have never seen a nanobot like this before, although I have heard that a certain Doctor was experimenting along these lines. Yes, the benefits that this technology could bring could be immense." 

"Get to the point." Heero said, glaring at Dr J. "What does this bot do?" 

"Well, the theory is that you could use a nanobot, program it with a database of knowledge, for instance the contents of an encyclopaedia. Then the bot could be implanted into the area of a persons brain that deals with memory and the person would have instant access to this knowledge without having to read it or memorise it. Now the nanobot that Quatre has in his brain also has a database contained within it. The database contains instructions, data, information that over-rides Quatre's memory." 

Duo whistled "So Quatre has been brainwashed." He said. 

"Exactly." Said Sally "We have managed to interface with the bot and had a look at the instructions that Quatre had been given. Basically it states that we are the bad guys and that Quatre should avoid us at all costs." 

"Can you fix it?" Trowa asked. 

"Yes" Dr J said "We can, and we have. It is just a matter of sending the bot a message telling it to stop sending the data to Quatre's brain." 

"What's to stop someone turning it on again." Heero asked. 

"If they have the correct frequency, nothing." Dr J said "But they would have to have access to Quatre and we have altered the frequency that the bot operates on as well as deleting the instructions. So if it were turned on, Quatre would not experience any change of personality. And anyway, even as we speak the bot is extracting itself from Quatre's brain because of instructions we have given it. It will travel gradually to a blood vessel and then more or less navigate itself to a point where Quatre's natural bodily functions will cause it to be ejected. Very clever little thing…" 

"I would recommend that we restrain Quatre until he comes around." Said Sally, and she proceeded to wrap Velcro belts around Quatre's wrists and ankles. "We don't know for sure how he will react when he comes around. I am sure he will be a little disorientated. Other than that, he could have residual memory from the bot, or worse case scenario the bots data may have overwritten his own memories. As Dr J said, this is cutting edge technology. To our knowledge there have been no human subjects prior to this." 

"So this Dr is performing experiments, using Quatre as a proto-type." Heero mused 

"Ah, yes" Dr J said "Young chap, was a promising heart surgeon at one point, but during the war the hospital he was in was hit by cross fire. He received a blow to the head and afterwards began to have epileptic fits. Cant be a surgeon if you suddenly start fitting. So he left that profession and went into research. Now, what was his name…" 

"Let me guess" said Trowa grimly "Dr Basil Holt." 

"Yes, I do believe you are right." Dr J said, "How did you know that?" 

Heero stood up and walked to the door. 

"I have to contact Relena." He said. 

He went to the communications unit in the next room, and dialled Relena's direct line. Relena's secretary answered the call. 

"I'm sorry, but Ms Dorlian is unavailable at the moment." She said a little too enthusiastically with a bright smile on her face. 

Heero glared at the woman and her smile faded. 

"Get Relena now" he ordered. 

"I'm very sorry sir, but she is busy at-" Heero cut her off. 

"I don't care if she is busy, this is of the utmost urgency. I need to speak to her. Now!" Heero growled. The secretary's eyes darted to the left of the screen, then she suddenly stood up and moved to one side. Relena stood in her place and Heero suddenly felt very relieved. 

"Relena" he started, almost smiling. 

"Mr Yuy." Relena spoke coldly. "I do not care for the way you speak to my staff. You have been told on a number of occasions that I have not been available to speak to you. I should have thought that someone of your intelligence would have got the hint by now. I do not wish to talk to you. Period. Please do not call this office again. If you do so I will refer your calls to the police and file a suit of harassment. I will not hesitate to take out a non-molestation order. So please, Mr Yuy, do us both a favour and do not call again". Relena glared out of the screen, and then terminated the call. 

Heero sat back stunned. 

"Wow, Heero" Duo said "What did you do to piss Lena off?" 

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	8. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eleven 

Warnings: Mild language

Chapter Eight

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Heero's fist slammed down on the desk as he cursed.

"Calm down, buddy." Duo soothed "I know it looks bad, but maybe she is just mad at you because your, well, you."

"Baka!" Heero glared at Duo "I should never have left her, dam it! I should have followed my gut feeling. Duo!" Duo jumped and backed up a little from Heero who stormed up to him "Call Hilde. See if she has had any communication with Relena."

"Ok, you're the boss!" Duo moved cautiously around Heero to the console and initiated the call.

"What is all the noise." Wufei had emerged from the examination room, followed by Trowa who sat on a chair and used a remote to turn on a television and started to flick through channels. He snorted when Heero held a finger up warning him to be quiet, and muted the sound putting on the subtitles. Duo had connected with Hilde and started to talk to her.

"Hey babe." He said with a winning smile "How ya doing?"

"Fine Duo." Hilde smiled broadly "I'm finding it a bit hard keeping your absence quiet – when are you coming back?"

"Er, might be a little while yet." Duo gaze flickered from Hilde to Heero, who was beginning to finger his gun in agitation "Things are getting a little tricky. Hon, have you spoken to Relena lately?"

"No." Hilde shook her head "I tried a couple of times, but couldn't get past her secretary. Why? You want me to try and get a message to her for you?" Heero had walked around to Duos side whilst Hilde talked. Hilde's eyes narrowed at Heero holding his gun and looking grim. "What's going on Heero?" she asked.

"Hilde, don't try and contact Relena again." Heero said, "If any Preventors ask where Duo is, say he took off. You don't know where he is and don't know when he will be back." 

"Well that's the truth anyway." Hilde said sarcastically "I'm guessing things are not going so well."

"Yeah honey" Duo nodded "And it seems like they are going to get worse. Look - if the questioning gets too intense, take off. Lie low until I contact you – you know where." Hilde nodded. "Don't trust anyone. Not Relena, not Lady Une, no one. Not until I tell you its safe."

Hilde hugged herself "God, Duo, now I am worried!"

Duo grinned at her "Its gonna be fine, sugar. Look, I gotta go. Remember what I said."

Hilde nodded "I will Duo." She said, "You take care." She kissed her fingers and held them up to the screen, Duo winked at her and terminated the call.

"So she hasn't had contact with Relena. The Minister is a busy person, so what!" Wufei grunted.

"Relena just told Heero never to contact her again!" Duo said "Now I don't know about you, but that is a little bit of a change from the princess who chased him all over Earth."

"So she finally came to her senses!" Wufei argued "The woman has decided to be strong and stand up for herself!"

"Please, can we have a little less shouting!" Sally came into the room. "I would like Quatre to sleep as long as possible. All this arguing is going to wake him."

"Relena is not herself." Heero growled at Wufei.

"Just because she told you to leave her alone does not mean she is not herself." Wufei frowned back.

"She. Is. Not. Herself!" Heero folded his arms "I don't like repeating myself!"

"Guys." Trowa's quiet voice interrupted, but Wufei ignored him.

"She is a strong woman. She has decided to move on." He crossed his arms too, glaring at Heero.

"Guys…" Trowa said a little more loudly. Sally moved to Trowa's side and started watching what he was watching on the television.

"She has NOT moved on! I know that something has happened to her. And you are too ignorant of our situations to make any comments about her moving on." Heero eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Guys…" Trowa tried again, and Duo went to see what he was watching.

"Injustice!"

"Baka!"

"GUYS!" Trowa yelled. Wufei and Heero tore their glares away from each other and looked at Trowa. Trowa pointed at the television. Wufei and Heero looked at the television. Archived footage of Relena was playing, showing her in a black evening gown arriving at a gala. Trowa turned the subtitles off and turned the volume up.

"Foreign Minister Dorlian, seen here at the War Orphans Charity Ball held last month, announced today that she will be setting up a Justice Committee which will be dedicated to bringing persons guilty of war crimes to justice. Ms Dorlian has special interest in war crimes as her own father was assassinated at the start of the Oz conflict. The identity of the assassin was never established.

"There have been many accusations lodged against the infamous Gundam pilots. It has been alleged that they caused unnecessary pain and suffering to civilian populations during the wars. Ms Dorlian has promised that the five Gundam pilots will be the first to be investigated by the new Justice Committee. Whilst at present the Gundam pilots identities are secret, Ms Dorlian has advised that if the pilots are found guilty then their identities will be exposed and they will be made accountable for their crimes. 

"It is widely believed that Ms Dorlian had first hand contact with the Gundam pilots during the wars." The announcer moved to another story.

"Shit." Said Duo.

"Your right. The woman hasn't moved on." Wufei shook his head "There is no way she would do this to us."

"They must be manipulating her as they did Quatre." Sally put her hand on Heero's shoulder "Are you alright Heero?"

Heero remained silent, eyes lowered, fringe falling over his face. He took a breath and turned to Sally.

"I'm going to get her." He started walking to the door.

"Wait, shit wait Heero." Duo moved in front of the door. "You can't go off half cocked, we have to have a plan buddy!"

"The plan is I'm going to get her." Heero said.

"Yes, well you are going to need me at least." Sally said "If she has been implanted with a nanobot, you will need me there to get rid of it, or at least wait until I have shown you how to do it." Heero stopped and looked over his shoulder at Sally. "OK, you would probably be able to hack into a bot's controls, but you don't know what condition she is going to be in." she went on "We know that they have been drugging her, if that has been going on long enough it could have caused physical damage. I know she is important to you, Heero, but you don't do her any favours if you go now. At least wait for Quatre to come around so we know that what they have done to her is reversible."

Heero nodded slowly then looked past Sally. Sally turned and saw Quatre standing in the doorway will Dr J.

"Hi guys" he said weakly, holding a hand up "I believe I need to apologise to you all, I don't believe I have been myself." He gave a half smile. He walked slowly to the couch and sat beside Trowa, running his hand through his hair as he did so. He winced as his fingers encountered the bump on the back of his head and he looked at Wufei. "I believe I did deserve this." Quatre said, "I said some very unkind things about Miss Po. Sorry."

Wufei nodded his head accepting the apology, but did not offer one in return. Sally put her arms around Quatre's shoulders and gave him a hug, before pulling out a penlight torch from her pocket and shining it into first one, then the other of Quatre's eyes.

"How are you feeling beside the headache?" she asked. "Dizzy, nauseous. Confused?"

"I'm fine, Miss Po, really." Quatre said, "Just embarrassed by my actions of the last couple of weeks and rather angry at Lady Une for placing me in this situation. She was so considerate and kind, then drugged my coffee and the next thing I know is that you are all my enemies."

"So Lady Une was behind it." Wufei shook his head, "I thought that she was one person we could trust."

"Do you remember what you were instructed to do?" Heero asked. He looked like he had calmed down, and was leaning up against the wall arms folded, head bent. Quatre could sense that he was extremely agitated.

"Yes. It's a very weird feeling. You all were plotting against the security of ESUN and against me personally. My task was to try and stabilise ESUNs position with the colonies by voting tactically against some of the larger colonies – my God, I've single-handedly disrupted the Martian Agreement." Quatre groaned and covered his face in his hands. He paused for a few seconds, then sat up straight again. "I was also supposed to keep you away from the Earth Heero. The bomb was a decoy to get you to L1, I'm afraid the reason why you couldn't work out how it was smuggled past security was because I placed it in my office. I am afraid it's a bit hazy, I am not sure why I had to do it but it seemed completely logical at the time."

"Yeah, well the reason is obvious now. Lady Une needed Heero away so she could get her hands on Lena." Duo was feeling very angry "Une is using her to turn the public against us".

"Yes, she must consider us a threat to her overall plan, whatever that is." Wufei agreed.

"Miss Relena?" Quatre looked shocked "You mean that she has had this done to her as well?"

"Appears so." Trowa nodded. 

"So now its time to come up with a plan." Heero looked up. He smiled dangerously "And it is going to have to be a good one, failure is not an option with this mission."


	9. Chapter Nine

New Chapter Nine 

Many thanks for all your kind reviews, especially Cynthia, apol, mya, Lady of Flame, GranAngel, ITDiva, Ayanami Chan, Mirisha Winner and Silver Wing. Reviews certainly make my day, so please keep them coming!

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing.

Chapter Nine

Relena finished looking over the press release. She frowned. She was sure that she was doing the correct thing, war criminals had to be held accountable for their actions. She owed at least that much to the memory of her father. The Gundam pilots were responsible, Lady Une had proved that to her. They ought to be bought to justice for at least that crime. So why did she feel so guilty?

She opened a file that had been sitting on her desk all week. Inside were photographs of all five pilots. Relena had been surprised to find that Quatre Winner from L1 had been the pilot of Sandrock. Who would have thought that such a seemingly gentle man could be a cold blooded killer. Relena flicked through the other photographs, trying to memorise features and names. Trowa Barton, Chang Wufei – both very serious and stern, Duo Maxwell's face grinned cheerfully his absurdly long hair braided. And then Heero Yuy. Dark brown hair falling over his narrowed glaring eyes which were so blue. Relena gazed long and hard at this picture and felt her heart start to race. Why did she get such a reaction from this picture.

Despite what the press hinted, Relena had never met these men. The one time she came close was the day that her father had been assassinated. Yuy had set off an explosion in the room where her father was in a meeting. Lady Une had saved Relena's life and she was very, very grateful to the Lady. Relena's fingers traced around the outline of Yuy's face. She wondered what it would be like to touch his face in reality, would his eyes soften, would he touch her in return. Relena's eyes flashed open.

"Oh, your sick!" she whispered to herself and closed the dossier quickly.

A knock at the door made her tear her eyes away from the closed file, her secretary put her head around the door and announced that Basil had arrived to see her. Basil pushed past the secretary smiling broadly at her, and Relena smiled back happy to see her fiancé.

"Hello darling." Basil greeted her with his sexy English accent. "Your looking tired my love. Have you had your tablets?"

"No dear." Relena walked around the desk and gave him a kiss. "I will as soon as I get home, I promise. This is a lovely surprise, I thought you were going to busy today."

"I am." Basil laughed. "I am just on my way to see Lady Une, and thought that I would take a minute or two to see you. Have you seen to the press release?"

Relena felt her uneasiness return. "Umm, not yet." She lied, looking down not wanting to meet Basil's trusting eyes. "There are a few points I need to verify…" She felt Basil's hand stroke the side of her face and lift her chin so that she was forced to look at him.

"I think that you ought to go home early, Relena." He said seriously. "You look tired and you have missed your medication. I know how important this war crime tribunal is to us, but it is not the only important issue. Remember Lady Une is relying on you to get the increased funding through for the Preventors."

Relena nodded slowly almost hypnotised by his sweet relaxing voice. She smiled and hugged him, nestling close to his body enjoying his warmth and scent.

"I'll walk you down to your car." Basil said, Relena nodded again turned and got her bag. She put the files from her desk into it, slipped on her jacket, and then accepted Basil's arm around her again. They walked slowly down to the lobby of the ministry and down the steps at the front to where her car was waiting for her. Basil opened the rear passenger door, gave her a kiss which she returned with ardour. Relena got into the car and threw the bag on the seat beside her.

"See you at home Darling." Basil said and shut the door. He waved to her and then ran back up the steps, Relena supposed he was in a hurry to make the appointment with Lady Une.

Smiling, she gave an instruction to her driver to take her home, and as the car pulled away from the kerb, she leaned her head back and closed her eyes smiling in the memory of the kiss she had received. As she relaxed she found that it was difficult to open her eyes again. God, I must be tired, she thought. Her hand patted her bag stuffed with files. Oh well, she thought, they can wait till later. Once I have had my vitamins I will feel more up to work. 

Relena started musing about the problem with the pilots again. She still felt such uneasiness when she considered them. She just couldn't explain it. Why did they invoke such a reaction in her? Relena felt the motion of the car slow, and she opened her eyes slowly. Surely they couldn't have made it back to her home so quickly, had she fallen asleep? She blinked several times trying to clear her blurry vision and saw that the car was pulling into a car park in a part of town that she couldn't identify.

"What…?" Relena looked around "Where are we driver?" For the first time she looked at her chauffeur. From the back seat she was having trouble identifying who the driver was today, his cap was askew on his head as if it was too small and he seemed to be ignoring her. Relena suddenly had a suspicion as to why the hat looked so ludicrous and felt herself go cold. Her hand reached out slowly as the car was coming to a stop and she pulled the hat from the driver's head. A light brown braid tumbled down the drivers back, and he looked around gave her a grin and wink.

"Hiya Lena!" he said cheerfully.

"Shit, your…your…." Relena grabbed her bag and fumbled with the door trying to exit the vehicle, but as she clumsily pulled the lever, the doors on either side of her opened. A man slid in on her right, reached across and pulled her towards him allowing room for a man to enter and sit on her left. The doors were closed and the car speeded up heading out of the car park all in a matter of seconds.

The man on her left nodded at her but kept quiet, looking around to see if anyone had observed them entering the car. Relena blinked in shock recognising him from the photos she had been looking at only an hour before. This was Trowa Barton, and the man in the front was Duo Maxwell. Two of the five men she had ordered on trial. Relena then became aware of an arm still snaked around her waist and that she was pressed up hard against another man. She turned her head slowly and looked up into deep blue eyes regarding her coldly. She swallowed in fear as he uttered her name softly.

"…Relena…"


	10. Chapter Ten

Chapter Thirteen 

Once again many thanks to those who read and review: Cyberwing, apol, Bassoonprincess, Fitz20, deathangel, Lady of Flame, ITDiva, Ayanami_Chan and Cynthia.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing

Chapter Ten

"Get your hands the hell off me!" Relena screamed, pulling away from Heero's grasp and making all three men wince at the pitch her voice hit. Relena sat still and hunched, arms holding her bag, fists clenched looking at the footwell of the car. She counted her breaths trying to calm down. When she realised that Heero was not going to touch her again, she raised her eyes slowly. Relena saw Duo's eyes regarding her through the rear vision mirror, flicking from looking at the road to looking at her. Relena prided herself at being a good judge of human emotion and she thought she could see concern in those eyes – perhaps she could work on that was her passing thought.

Relena switched her attention to the men sitting beside her. Heero Yuy regarded her coolly, his arm nearest the door lying on the armrest, but the arm closest to her, the arm that had been around her, was tense hand gripping the seat. It was at complete odds with his face. Relena looked at the other man, Trowa Barton. He was also regarding her without expression, but his posture was relaxed and in control. She swallowed. Perhaps she could talk herself out of this situation. 

Her back straightened and she let her own grip on her bag loosen somewhat, but did not relax the grip completely. That bag contained secret files on the all the pilots and the press release she had been drafting which named them. Relena considered it would not be the best time to let them know that their anonymity was about to be blown. The bag also contained two weapons, one that Basil had insisted that she carry: a small handgun. The second even Basil didn't know she had, a kind gift from an elderly doctor who thought it a better form of defence for a pacifist - a small can of spray that would cause temporary disorientation and discomfort if sprayed in someone's face. Relena had no wish for the men to discover any of the items she held.

"Gentlemen." Relena cleared her throat and hoped that her voice would not betray her very real fear. "Can you explain why you have abducted me and where we are going. Perhaps we can discuss this and come to an amicable solution."

Heero snorted, Trowa smiled before turning his attention to the window again. Duo was the only one to speak.

"Ah, always the diplomat Princess, guess they could never change that." He grinned.

Relena felt unsure of herself. Did these people not even want to discuss terms?

"I don't understand you, er, Duo is it?" she said and Duo nodded, attention still on the road. Relena noted that they had left the city limits and were now heading out into the countryside up into the mountains. "Where are you taking me?" she demanded again.

"Somewhere safe." Heero finally said, his eyes had not left Relena's face and she was beginning to feel very uneasy about his gaze. "You will soon understand. I want you to hold still for a minute." Heero had a small device in his had and he pointed it at Relena. Relena went still, a little afraid, as Heero swept it up and down her body, at a distance of a few centimetres.

"Anything?" Trowa asked.

"Hmm" Heero was studying the device intently. He looked up at Relena "Take your necklace off." He ordered. Relena frowned, but obeyed him. She passed it to him and he looked at it intently before passing it to Trowa. Trowa nodded. Heero looked back at the machine. "Earrings" he said, and Relena slowly took her earrings off. Again Heero looked at them closely and then passed them to Trowa. 

Heero did one more sweep of her body. He stiffened suddenly and touched her left hand, raising it looking at the ruby and diamond ring she had on her ring finger.

"You are not having that." Relena said firmly.

"You're engaged?" Heero said weakly, eyes still on the ring, then he repeated himself with anger this time "You're engaged?"

Relena felt sick, she nodded.

"Who?" Heero demanded.

"Basil …." Relena answered "Basil Holt." She felt cool fresh air come into the car and looked across to see that Trowa had opened his window and thrown out her pendant and earrings. "Hey!" she protested.

"Bugged." Trowa said, "We need to move faster now Duo"

"Bugged…" Relena repeated weakly. These men did not seem to be lucid. She was beginning to fear for her safety. She became aware that Heero was still holding her hand, glaring at the ring. She pulled it away sharply from him "So, I'm engaged, so what!" she said "Is it so hard for people to imagine the Foreign Minister having a life!"

Heero looked at her without answering, his blue eyes cold and narrowed.

"God, what do you people want?" Relena said angrily "Do you really think that you could get away with all the crimes you have undertaken in the name of war? So many innocent people died because of you, and here you are starting the cycle again by kidnapping me. What do you want from me?" she demanded.

"Relena, you will understand soon." Heero said tonelessly, "You will understand that you have always been on our side."

"Shut up!" Relena was very angry now "Don't you dare say such lies. Do you think I could ever support the person who killed my father in cold blood. Yes, you! You!" she poked her index finger into Heero's chest with each word "You killed my father!"

Heero groaned, and shook his head. "You will understand soon. I'm sorry I couldn't have been there to prevent it. But I will be there to pay back the people who have done this to you."

Relena stiffened at his ominous tone.

"Relax." Trowa said calmly, "We have a way to go, you could sleep."

"Gentlemen, you cant expect me to sleep in this situation." Relena scowled at them.

Trowa raised an eyebrow and looked over her head at Heero. Heero nodded at Trowa. Relena felt sudden fear as Trowa produced a cloth and bottle from his jacket pocket. He opened the bottle and poured some of the contents on the cloth. A very distinctive scent wafted up from the cloth.

"When you wake up, everything will be back to normal." Heero said calmly.

"Oh shit, no you don't." Relena realised that they were going to render her unconscious. She swung her bag around catching Trowa unawares. He dropped the bottle, the rest of the contents soaking into the cars upholstery and carpet. The fumes were making all of them cough. Heero grabbed her around her shoulders pulling her back up against his chest.

"Hurry up and do it Trowa." He growled. Trowa tried to get the cloth to Relena's face again, but she kicked him again and again with her feet, which conveniently happened to be in rather pointy high heels. As she kicked her hand worked its way inside her bag and frantically sought the gun or the spray, at this point Relena didn't care which. She felt cool metal and pulled out the tin of spray. Pointing the tin at Trowa she depressed the button and spray erupted from the nozzle point blank into Trowa's face. Trowa cried out in alarm, dropped the cloth and covered his face with his hands.

Relena felt Heero loosen his grip on her in surprise and she immediately lifted her arm and sprayed over her shoulder in what she hoped was the general direction of his face. Heero grunted and let go of her completely. She looked at both men, they were both lying back hands to faces, groaning.

Duo regarded her calmly as the car sped on.

"Now you don't want to do that to me, Lena. I believe I am in control of this car and if you spray me with that shit we are definitely going to crash!"

Relena smiled coldly. "No Mr Maxwell, I wouldn't dream of spraying you." She said sweetly, pulling the gun out of the bag. "But if you don't stop, I'm going to shoot both of these men." Duos eyes had widened considerably as he saw Relena pull out a gun and flick off the safety.

"Princess, try and stay calm." Duo said, slowing the car down a little. "I thought that you were a pacifist. I really don't think that you could shoot them in cold blood."

"Just try me." Relena said, aiming at Heero's head.

Duo cursed and slammed down into third, then second. "Ya know, Heero would prefer to die than let you go back there." He said, testing her, maintaining the speed of the car.

"I seem to recall reading that you are very vain about your hair." Relena said sweetly "How would you feel if I used a bullet to give it a little trim?" she pointed the gun at his braid and Duo scowled back at her and braked sharply.

"That is particularly low Relena." He said "If I didn't know that you were not yourself at the moment, I would be very angry."

The car came to a halt.

"Get out and open the rear door." Relena ordered, and watched as Duo, scowling, obeyed. "Pull him out" she said pointing at Trowa. Duo grabbed Trowa under his arms and half dragged him out of the car. Trowa tried to stand but kept sinking to his knees. Relena slid out of the car and surveyed her surroundings. There were on a mountain road in what looked like forestry. Tall pinus radiatas were growing, lower branches cut away to promote tall straight trunks. "Get him out too." She pointed at Heero, and Duo complied.

Heero looked like he was shaking the spray faster than Trowa, whilst he could only kneel and look dizzy he did manage to focus on her.

"You're making a mistake Relena." he said quietly.

"No, you made the mistake underestimating me." Relena retorted. She threw her bag in the backseat of the car, and slammed the door. She looked in the driver's side to see that the keys were still in the ignition. Gun still aimed at the men, she slid into the car and started it. She closed the door, gun still pointing out the window. "Move back." She ordered and Duo walked back a few steps. Relena put the vehicle into first, revved the engine and then released the handbrake all whilst aiming the gun with her left hand. As the car started to move off, she pulled threw the gun down on the front passenger's seat.

Grinning to herself, she floored the accelerator and started to speed away, clumsily changing the gears into second. Basil was going to be so proud that she had kept her calm and escaped from those terrorists. She looked at the rear vision mirror to get a look at the pilots and felt coldness of dread wash over her as she saw Heero, still kneeling, aiming a gun at her. She didn't hear the retort of the gun, but did feel the control of the car slip away from her, the steering wheel become loose and not able to steer the car in the direction she wanted to go. In her panic she slammed on the breaks. As soon as she did this she realised it was a mistake, the car started skidding out of control, spinning around, off the road and down the slope into the trees below. Relena was conscious of a roaring sound in her ears before everything went silent.


	11. Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

"You shot her!" Duo said incredulously "You idiot, you shot her!"

Heero lowered the gun and struggled to his feet "I shot the tyre." He said watching in satisfaction as the car slowed. He frowned as he saw the brake lights suddenly light up "Don't brake, Relena, turn the wheel into the skid!" he yelled, stumbling forward. 

In shock all three saw the car spin around, leave the road and smash sideways into a tree. Duo grabbed Heero's arm "Way to go!" he said sarcastically, then took off running up the road towards the car. Heero stumbled after him trying to clear his head of the spray. Trowa followed behind shaking his head trying to clear his vision, as he had been the recipient of the largest dose.

Duo made it to the where the car left the road first and slid down the bank to the vehicle. He approached cautiously, remembering that Relena had a gun, and peered through the window. He blinked in surprise and looked over his shoulder at Heero and Trowa who were sliding down the bank. "You are not going to like this." he said.

Heero looked suddenly fearful and opened the door. The inside was empty. Relena wasn't there. He looked past the car, down into the forest. "She can't have gone far." He said, and retrieved the gun that Relena had used from the floor of the car. "She isn't armed either, it wont take us long to get her back."

"Yeah, well, you better not draw your weapon again Heero." Duo warned him pointing his finger at Heero's nose "Lena is on our side, remember."

"No, she isn't." Heero reached into the car again and pulled out Relena's bag "She isn't until we get rid of that damn from her brain. Until that time she is our enemy and you better remember that." He started pulling out the contents of the bag.

"Check to see if she has that spray with her." Trowa said "I would rather face a gun than that stuff again." Heero pulled out the tin of spray and Trowa grinned. "Let's go get her." He said, and started off into the forest.

Relena felt sick. Her head hurt from banging it on the driver's door. She had only been stunned for a moment or two after the impact, and had quickly gathered enough reason to vacate the car as quickly as she could and head off into the darkness of the wood. The pilots would get to the car quickly, she had no doubts, and they would be none to happy with her. They had showed no hesitation in shooting her off the road, it was likely that they would just shoot her now and be done with it.

She had run about fifty metres when she suddenly remembered her gun and spray. She cursed, she couldn't go back for them now. Stupid, stupid, stupid she chanted to herself as she ran on. Her heels were sinking into the pine needles that carpeted the forest floor; it was slowing her down. She bent down and pulled her shoes off and started running faster, though wincing as the dry pine needles cut into her tender unprotected feet. She threw one shoe far to her left, hoping that the pilots might think that she had run that way. The other she grasped firmly in her hand, it might be useful as a weapon of sorts – the three-inch heels were metal and quite strong. Relena suspected that a blow from it would hurt significantly, and she was quite willing to test her theory if one of the pilots got too close.

Relena's breath was coming fast now, and she slowed then stopped leaning up against a trunk of a tree. She had stitch in her side and her head was thumping. She tried to slow her breathing and listen for sounds of pursuit. She couldn't hear anything, no bird song, no animal sounds, nothing but her ragged breathing. Relena put a hand to her aching head and feeling stickiness there looked at her fingers to see blood. She stifled a groan as nausea flooded her. Get moving! Her brain ordered her, but her body was feeling very weak and wouldn't obey. She crouched down trying to form a plan in her mind, then she heard a twig break somewhere up the slope. Relena realised they were getting closer. She sprang to her feet and started running again as fast as she could down the hill.

Relena heard a grunt of surprise from behind her and the thud thud thud of someone chasing her. She looked over her shoulder to see Heero bearing down on her, face fixed and grim, eyes narrowed. Relena felt fear and a surge of adrenaline and started to run faster. She heard another grunt and felt an impact around her knees causing her legs to buckle and her body to fall forward. The forest floor came up at amazing speed and she felt her whole body jar as she hit the ground. The breath was knocked out of her lungs and she stayed down dazed and stunned.

The weight on her legs was removed, and she supposed that Heero had got up. She grasped the shoe tightly in one hand just under her body where he would not see, and kept her eyes closed. She lay perfectly still. She sensed Heero crawl beside her and felt his hands checking her pulse then moving to feel her skull for injuries. As the fingers moved down her neck to her shoulder blades, she suddenly rolled to one side and stuck out with all her strength swinging the shoe in an arch hoping to impact with his head. Her arm came to a sudden halt, and she saw that Heero had captured her wrist with his hand. They made eye contact, Relena put as much hate into her glare as she could muster, Heero looked back at her coolly. He forced her arm back to the ground, and as her hand it the ground she lost grip of the shoe. She was now on her back with Heero lying over her, hands on both her wrists, her arms up by her head. Relena struggled.

"Stop fighting me." Heero said, "I don't want to hurt you any more than is necessary."

Relena stopped moving and smiled sweetly "Yeah, right." She said, "That's why you shot at me."

Heero relaxed his grip of her, releasing one hand. He caressed the side of her face gently "I shot at the car, not you."

Relena kicked up with her legs, hoping to hit him in the groin, but Heero evaded easily and pinned her down again.

"Having trouble buddy!" Duo and Trowa trotted up.

"I am trying to convince her that we are not going to hurt her!" Heero growled. He let go of one of her arms again, and kneeled beside her still holding the other arm. Relena sat up.

"You kidnap me. You shot at me." She said, "You cause me to crash and then tell me that you mean me no harm. Yeah, right!" Trowa had offered her his hand to get her to her feet, but she ignored him and stood up on her own.

"If you hadn't panicked and hit the breaks you would never have left the road." Heero retorted getting to his feet. He pulled back her hair gently to assess the damage. "Everyone knows to turn into a skid and not to slam on the brakes."

Relena slapped his hand away. "I usually have a chauffeur, Mr Yuy" she said in an angry voice "I don't even have a licence. I last drove a car four years ago. How the hell was I supposed to know that."

Duo laughed "Lena has a point Heero. And I guarantee that when she remembers, she is still going to be very angry with you!" 

"I suggest we return to the car and see if it can still be driven." Trowa interrupted "We need to make contact with the others soon, and the day is almost over." He started making his way back up the slope.

Relena considered making another run for it, but decided against it. There was no way she could outrun these men, and Heero would not let go of her arm. She followed him meekly up the slope wincing as her battered feet encountered rough twigs and pinecones. Heero looked back at her "Do you want me to carry you?" He asked. Relena scowled at him and increased her pace so that she was in the lead and he was following.

Carry her indeed!


	12. Chapter Twelve

A big thank you to all who have reviewed the last couple of chapters: stephanie, Miss Chang Po, Silver Wing, the archduke, apol, pennybright, Ayanami Chan, mya and deathangel. Sorry that this chapter is a little on the short side, but it is appropriate to stop it where I do.

Please do remember to review and give me criticism if you think it appropriate - it's the only way its going to improve!

Standard Disclaimer: I don't own GW….

Chapter Twelve

Relena was once again sitting in the back of the car with three of the most dangerous men in ESUNs history. It was now dusk and the car, though battered, was speeding towards a rendezvous with the another of the Gundam pilots.

It had taken all three men to push the car back up onto the road, Relena had promised not to run again but Heero obviously had not trusted her. To her indignation she had had her wrists and ankles bound, had been sat under a tree and threatened with worse if she as much as moved an inch. Once the car had been returned to the road, Duo had turned the engine over easily and confirmed that the damage was to the side panels of the vehicle and that the engine had escaped harm. That left the punctured tyre, which had quickly been changed. Relena had been picked up and unceremoniously dumped in the back seat before her bonds had been removed. 

"Well, that was lucky, eh Lena." Grinned Duo as she rubbed her wrists "Wouldn't have wanted to walk the rest of the way. Oh, and I think you forgot these Cinderella." Duo handed her two shoes over to Relena.

Relena glared at him as she put the shoes on. "I should have thrown the keys away." She said hoping to provoke him, but he laughed at her. Didn't the man ever get grumpy? In the meantime Trowa was calling another person on a communicator. Relena heard him talking quietly and strained to listen, ignoring Duo's endless chatter.

"She has proven a little more difficult than we anticipated." Trowa was saying "But we will still make the destination within the set time. I suggest that we get her to Sally as soon as is feasible."

Relena racked the name over in her mind, Sally…..Sally. It seemed familiar, but she could not put a face to the name. Her attention was bought back to her immediate surroundings by something cold and stinging being applied to her face. She flinched and saw Heero holding iodine covered cotton wool.

"Hold still, I want to clean this cut." He said and touched her wound again. "Hnn, its gaping a little. Might get a small scar from this, but I think your hair will cover it." Relena scowled at him and watched as he produced some steri-strips from a first aid kit and applied them over her cut "That should hold it together." He nodded in satisfaction "Anything else hurt? No?" Relena ignored him. "Let's move it then Duo." Heero ordered.

Trowa got in beside Duo, who started the car, put it in first and took off slowly up the road. Relena moved as far away from Heero as she could, leaning on the door. She speculated on whether she could open it and jump out of the car, but Heero seemed to know what she was thinking.

"Don't try it, Relena." He said, "The smash mangled the door so badly that it can't be opened." He smirked at her expression.

That had been several hours ago. Relena had been struggling to keep her eyes open. She needed her tablets, it was early yet and she should still be wide-awake and working on some paper or document. Instead she was kidnapped, travelling to goodness knows where with dangerous men and she was desperate for sleep. Perhaps some stress reaction she thought watching trees go past the window. Her eyelids were getting heavier and heavier, she was being hypnotised by the motion of the car and objects flashing past her field of vision.

Heero was watching her quietly as her head nodded once, twice, then jerked upwards eyes blinking, trying to stay alert. Again her head drooped towards her chest, eyes closed, her breathing becoming regular. When he was satisfied that she was deeply asleep, he pulled off his jacket, rolled it up and placed it gently over her shoulder and moved her head so it was pillowed by the garment. He looked at her head wound, it had looked worse than it was as most head wounds did. He had cleaned the blood off her face, but her own suit jacket had a significant red stain where the blood had dripped.

Turning his attention from Relena to the others in front, he crouched forward so he could talk quietly and not disturb Relena.

"Took a while." Trowa nodded towards her. 

"She might be out for a while." Heero agreed "If she has been on stimulants for a while she probably needs the sleep."

"Your pacifist princess has been turned into quite a little fighter!" Duo smiled.

"She has always been a fighter." Heero gave a rare smile back. "No sign of pursuit yet?"

"None." Trowa confirmed "Wufei said that there had been no announcement of her abduction on world news. Quatre must have pulled off his transmission to Lady Une."

"Yeah, certainly has been useful feeding Une information about our incarceration on L1." Duo said, "I would like to see her face when she realises that she has been fed a pack of lies."

"Hnn" Heero had to agree with this "How soon till rendezvous?"

"Only another 15 minutes or so." Duo advised "Don't worry Heero, once we meet up with Wufei, and fly to Sally, Lena will be back to normal. Another day tops and you will be the one running from her again, not the other way around."

Heero glared at Duo, then settled back as near to Relena as he dared to sit.

Lady Une looked at Quatre's open honest face displayed on her communications unit.

"Well?" she asked.

"I have been successful in detaining Heero, Duo and Trowa. They are being held by my security on the basement level of my mansion." Quatre advised. 

"They are secure, are they." Une mused. "They do have a lot of past form for escaping, are you absolutely sure that will not occur this time."

"I have convinced my security that those three were responsible for the explosion." Quatre replied, "My security is renown for its loyalty to me and for their efficiency at performing their work. The pilots will not escape."

"Excellent." Lady Une nodded. "Proceed with derailing L1s agreements with other colonies."

Quatre nodded and Lady Une switched the screen off.

"Well?" she questioned.

Basil Holt stood up from the chair he had been sitting in.

"He seemed to be following orders, didn't he." Basil smiled. "Shame that we know for a fact that Heero, Duo and Trowa are all on the earth as we speak."

"Yes, they are all predictable aren't they?" Lady Une laughed. "They are right on schedule, they have, they believe, rescued Relena and are on there way to deactivate the nanobot in her brain and bring her back to reality. You will, of course, advise me as soon as this is done."

Basil looked at the palm-sized computer in his hand. "Of course, Lady Une. All the data will be relayed to me from the bot, same as Quatre's bot did. These experiments would not be worth my time unless I was able to collect the data."

"Yes, your experiments…" Lady Une narrowed her eyes at him "That's really all you are interested in, isn't it."

"Well, Lady Une, I am a scientist, an inventor." Basil nodded, "I'm not interested in manipulating the nations back into war as you and your partner are. My nanobots are all that are important to me. Although I must admit that to cause Yuy pain is a bonus. After all the pain he has caused me, the idea of a little revenge is sweet. I am, after all, only human."

"Well, war is what we will have soon enough" Une came to her feet "And it will all start soon. Just as soon as those stupid pilots turn off the nanobot in Relena's brain. When the people find out about how the colonies Gundum pilots have killed their beloved Queen they will all scream for revenge. Such a beautiful war will begin…and then he will come and take control, just as my dear Trieze planned."

"Yes…." Basil regarded her for a little while then turned to leave the room. "Don't forget to give me the list of world leaders you want to be implanted with the generation two nanobot once the current experiment is concluded."

Lady Une, caught up in her own dreamy red world of blood, didn't hear him leave.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

Again, many thanks to those who have reviewed. Penybright - that's astute of you to pick up on the partner *grins* . Stephanie - I certainly don't dislike Lady Une and it is not my intention to make her "evil". But, she is integral to the plot and I am taking advantage of how stress does tend to push the poor dear into different personalities. Believe me, it will all become clear in the end *fingers crossed*. Thanks also to Nova, deathangel, apol, Silver Wing, and Tenoko (x3!). 

Chapter Thirteen

Quatre leaned back and folded his arms, looking at the blank screen. He looked up at Sally and Dr J, then back at the screen.

"….So…." Sally tried to prompt him, "She believed you…." No response from Quatre "...She didn't believe you……?"

Quatre frowned and looked back up at Sally. "She said she believed me." He said.

"Which is good." Sally nodded.

"I don't believe that she believed me." Quatre said quietly looking troubled.

"Which is bad." Sally now frowned. "Why don't you believe that she believed you?"

"Don't know." Quatre said honestly "I guess it's just a feeling."

"Soooo…you believe that she doesn't believe you even though she said she did believe you." Sally said. "I don't believe this! Why would she want you make you believe that she believes you when she doesn't."

Quatre held his hands up "Please, Sally." He protested "It's like having a conversation with Duo." Sally's eyes narrowed dangerously. "I just have these feelings sometimes, and they are normally accurate." He continued. He looked at Doctor J for support.

"Yes, well, its true." Dr J nodded. "One of the reasons Quatre was selected as a Gundam pilot was his empathic ability. I think you should belie- trust him on this. The thing that concerns me is why Lady Une is playing along with our deception."

"Yes, that worries me greatly." Quatre nodded. "How would she know that I was no longer being controlled by her."

"Perhaps we should have another look at the nanobot, Dr J." Sally said.

"Agreed." Said Dr J.

"I shall contact Wufei and advise him that the mission could be compromised." Quatre said, opening a communications channel.

Wufei had just finished the pre-flight checks on the shuttle when Quatre's call came through. He listened silently to Quatre and nodded grimly. He knew that when Quatre had a hunch it was usually right. 

"Understood." He said, "We will be taking off in the next fifteen minutes. Do you still want to meet at the arranged point?" Quatre nodded his affirmation. "See you there." Wufei ended the call and walked back to the cabin of the shuttle.

Relena had been carried to a chair, strapped in and wrapped in blankets. She had not stirred. Trowa and Duo were keeping watch for signs of pursuit, Trowa checking the radar and Duo was visually surveying the surrounding countryside with night vision glasses. Heero was working on his ever-present laptop sitting next to Relena.

"The shuttle is ready to leave." Wufei said, "Quatre has just called in. His communication with Lady Une seemed successful, but he is having doubts as to whether she is deliberately letting us take the minister."

"Hnn…" Heero nodded in agreement with this, "There is no indication on any of the Preventors systems that Relena is missing. If that is true, I would say their security is extremely slack."

"Gee, you've managed to hack into the Preventors?" Duo asked, shutting the shuttle door, and twisting a lock to seal it.

"He designed the system Duo." Trowa pointed out "Of course he left a back door in."

"We will proceed as planned." Heero said shutting his laptop and stowing it under his chair. "There is little else we can do at this point. However our rendezvous point will be different."

"Where?" Wufei asked.

"The place where I go when I do not want to be found." Heero said quietly "I will send the co-ordinates to Sally, she can meet us there with the equipment she needs. Time to go" he pulled the blankets away from Relena, checked her belt was tight, then gently tucked her in the blankets again. "Soon…" he whispered in her ear, but she didn't stir.

"There is nothing here" Sally said in disgust, surveying the area again. "Dam it, Heero, you sent the wrong co-ordinates." Heero smirked at her from the Coms screen. "What's so funny, we are on a tight agenda here!"

Quatre laid a restraining hand on her arm "Calm down Sally." He said softly, "Look, there is Heero's shuttle now."

They could see Heero's shuttle glide gracefully into view, slowing as it drew closer. Duo's voice could be heard over the coms link "Wow, what a load of junk – could make a fortune salvaging this lot."

"It's not junk." Heero said dryly, using the boosters to come closer to several large cylindrical objects.

"Yea it is." Duo protested his face now visible to Quatre and Sally, standing behind Heero. "Those are old fuel tanks from the first shuttle flights from earth, they are almost antiques – predate the colonies."

"Not exactly." Heero said.

"Heero, what are you doing?" Sally demanded clearly irritated. Heero was concentrating in manoeuvring the shuttle closer to the tanks.

"I'm docking." He replied.

"Docking!" Wufei had joined the other two pilots. "Docking where? To what?"

"To my home." Heero said blandly.

The others now looked more closely at the tanks. 

"Good heavens!" Quatre suddenly said excitedly "You have salvaged one of the original colonies, haven't you."

Wufei frowned as Heero completed the docking procedure. "Explain." He said.

"The first manned flights into space were very wasteful." Quatre said enthusiastically "They launched huge rockets, 90 percent of which didn't return to the earth. Then they designed the space shuttles which were launched by the same principal as the original rockets, with huge tanks attached filled with fuel. These tanks were jettisoned when empty and either burnt up in the atmosphere or orbited the earth. Then the people of earth found they didn't have the resources to continue waste at this level and so began to recycle the tanks. They reclaimed them, and converted them into living quarters in space."

"Ah, so in effect they were the first colonies." Sally nodded, remembering her history. "Sort of like a caravan in space, compact but liveable for small family groups."

"So, buddy, every time you have disappeared you went to live in a junk yard." Duo laughed, "Seems we have more in common than I thought!"

Heero frowned "Docking complete." He said, undoing his restraints "Quatre, there is another docking port on the other side. I suggest you use it and meet us inside. It's small, so don't bring too much inside."

"Only the essentials." Sally smiled "I think that I would prefer to sleep on the shuttle, an antique tube in space is not my idea of safe." She terminated the call before Heero could reply.

Heero floated back to the passenger area of the shuttle. Relena was still asleep, and looked like she hadn't moved for the duration of the journey. Trowa was sitting beside her and nodded to Heero confirming that she was alright. Heero moved to the air lock door and opened it. Trowa peered through the door.

"Cosy." He commented.

"It's going to get cosier." Heero replied, picking up Relena in his arms and moving through the air lock into the tank. He nudged a panel as he went in and lights came on. The interior was sparse.

"Once Quatre has finished docking I will start the station on its gravity spin." Heero said, letting Relena go so she floated gently. He moved to a wall and pushed another panel, the wall tipped forward revealing a narrow bed, which Heero clipped into a d ring on the floor.

Duo and Wufei had by this time joined them. "Luxurious" Duo commented.

"I never intended it for entertaining" Heero growled "This is the sleeping area, through that hatch there is a training area, and through another hatch is the command room."

"No living area, eh?" Duo asked.

"I said, it's not for entertaining. Don't make me repeat myself." He nodded at Trowa "Keep an eye on her." Trowa nodded his understanding, and Heero made his way through to the computer area, through which Sally and Quatre would board. 

As he floated toward the area he surveyed his sometime home. It was sparse, but it was in deep space. Not the sort of place you would expect to see soft furnishings and curtains. The training area had gym equipment bolted to the floor and a punch bag floating awkwardly to one side. When he was living here he spent a good deal of time in this room, building up his strength, toning muscles that had been damaged in missions. 

On to the command room, the heart of the station, he pushed off the wall to float to the opposite wall and unlocked the air lock. He then moved towards the computers and started running the program that would start spinning the station to replicate gravity. Sally and Quatre entered and he nodded over his shoulder at them.

"Steady yourselves." He warned as he initiated the spin. He felt his body become heavy as the spin started and increased, then felt himself dropping. He landed gracefully in a crouch, Quatre supported Sally's arms as they both landed. 

"Shit, Heero!" came a yell, and Heero smirked. He led Sally and Quatre back to the sleeping area. Trowa was laying Relena on the bed, whilst Duo and Wufei were both rubbing their posteriors. "A little warning next time Heero." Wufei complained. 

"Yeah" agreed Duo "Trowa seemed to be in the know and had no trouble catching Relena, shame you didn't warn us as well."

Sally smiled and gave Wufei a hug. Wufei looked a little embarrassed then hugged her back. "I'll rub it better later." Sally murmured in his ear. Wufei went pink and pulled away scowling at her. Sally grinned then moved to Relena, looking at her closely, pulling her eyelids up and looking at her eyes, feeling her pulse and counting her breaths.

"How long has she been like this?" She asked business like.

"Since we took off, a day or so." Wufei answered

"Where's the machine?" Heero asked, "The sooner that thing is turned off the better."

Sally looked at Quatre, then left the room to go and get her equipment. Quatre put his hand on Heero's shoulder, and Heero sensing a problem looked at him questioningly.

"Sally and Dr J both agree that we should look at the bot a little more carefully before we rush in and turn it off." He explained "They did some extra work on mine and found that it was sending a signal, feeding out of copy of what it was doing, presumably to the good doctor. He was conducting an experiment and needed to know what was happening."

"So, if that's true, then they know that you are no longer under their control." Duo said, looking nervous. "So why did they swallow that line about us being captured?"

"Why indeed." Heero sat on the bed next to Relena, and stroked her hair away from her face. She was pale, and looked very fragile. "They are herding us somewhere, to where and why is the question."

Sally wheeled in a trolley from her shuttle, loaded with equipment. "We will find out soon." She reassured Heero, "Just be patient."


	14. Chapter Fourteen

Wow! What a load of reviews! Thank you Arabella Figg, ~*Ai*~Wing, Rei, Stephanie (thanks for pointing out grammer - hopefully this one is better. I try and make sure that everything is correct, but there may be what appear to be spelling mistakes depending on which country you hail from. Im a Kiwi, so tend to use United Kingdom english as opposed to American english - although sometimes if Im lazy I just use both!), Sryia Yuki (I promise this story will be finished - I am working on the last couple of chapters now - 21 and 22. Merry Xmas!), Kuroneko_no_Miko, Penybright, Shi_chan, apol, Vicki, Tenoko, The Pretty Penwriter, Keri, Cynthia, X-rated (er, sorry the story makes no sense! I am trying to be coherant!), Sai, Silver Wing, and Ayanami_Chan (soooon, it will happen soon!).

Any way, on with the story. As usual the normal disclaimer applies…

Chapter Fourteen

Relena was floating, peaceful and serene. Her eyelids were too heavy to open, but that was alright. She could hear voices murmuring around her and they felt comforting and friendly. She was happy to stay in this safe, warm place. The voices came nearer and Relena found she could pick out some words, someone was calling her name softly and she could feel her hair being stroked with such gentleness.

"…..Relena…." the voice called to her again. Deep, masculine, almost sensual. Relena felt her lips twitch into a half smile. Her body reacted as she concentrated on the voice, she could feel a tingle run down her spine and felt her heart begin to beat faster.

"Relena, open your eyes." The voice encouraged her, and she tried again to comply. She felt almost drunk, euphoric and sleepy at the same time. She breathed deeply and began to stretch her stiff limbs. Her eyes slowly began to open. Relena needed to blink a few times before the blurring was banished. 

"….where…?" she asked, her throat was sore and she had difficulty swallowing. As her vision focused she found herself looking into Prussian blue eyes that looked very familiar and safe. A hand was holding hers, whilst another was smoothing back her hair. As Relena gazed into those eyes another feeling welled up inside her – panic. Those eyes were not safe, they were dangerous and cold. The eyes of a killer. The eyes of her fathers killer – Heero Yuy. Relena gasped and sat upright, her hand holding her head, which was throbbing with the pain of a severe headache. Her other hand was still being held and she pulled it out of Heero's grip.

Heero gazed at her, his eyes narrowing. "She's awake." He announced and stood up from the bed on which he had been sitting. He folded his arms and watched her coldly. At his announcement other people approached the bed. Relena saw that Trowa and Duo were still with her, but now there were a number of new people. Quatre Winner she recognised instantly as a delegate that she had had lots of dealings with in the past. He was, however, also a Gundam pilot. Wufei Chang was also in the room. He was looking through some papers which she recognised to be the press release that she had intended to give which detailed the identities of the pilots and their crimes. A woman came forward and sat beside her and offered her a glass of clear liquid.

"Here, drink it." Sally ordered. "Its water. You are dehydrated, that is why you have a headache. Get your fluids up and your headache should go."

Relena took the glass and looked at it suspiciously. She sipped the water carefully, and could detect no taste that would indicate anything being added. Relena gulped the water down. "Who are you?" she asked.

Sally raised an eyebrow at the question "Dr Sally Po." She responded. "You don't remember me?"

Relena looked at her carefully "I never forget a face." She said, "It wouldn't pay to in my profession. I would swear that I have never met you before." Relena switched her attention to Wufei, who was still looking through papers "Those are classified." Relena said coolly "Please stop reading and return them to my bag at once."

"No." Wufei answered her, and turned his back on her continuing to read.

"Miss Relena" Sally said calmly "You and I do know each other. I was your personal physician for several years before being reassigned by Lady Une. Dr Holt replaced me only a couple of months ago."

Relena snorted "Don't be ridiculous – if you were my doctor only a couple of months ago I would remember it."

"Who was your doctor before Dr Holt?" Sally asked.

"My doctor was…." Relena frowned trying to remember the name. Her headache intensified and she held her hand up to her head again. "I'm afraid his name escapes me at this moment, but it definitely wasn't you. My memory isn't normally this poor, it is probably due to the shock of what has happened today." Relena glared at the pilots.

"Ok, you have forgotten the name." Sally continued, watching Relena closely. "You remember what he looked like." Relena nodded "Can you describe him to me?" Relena frowned in thought but made no response "Was he tall, short, fat, thin?" Sally prompted.

Relena's headache grew even more severe. She screwed up her eyes against the artificial light of the station as it became unbearable, and shielded her eyes with her hand. How could she not remember, she thought desperately. She shook her head to indicate that she couldn't respond.

"How long were you with your previous doctor?" Sally's voice seemed to come from a great distance. Relena began to see spots in front of her eyes as she desperately tried to remember times, dates, anything. She tried to speak but her mouth was dry, her heart seemed to be racing and a feeling a panic was washing over her. Before blackness overcame her she heard a crash of glass splintering and someone swearing.

The glass had slipped from Relena's hand and had smashed on the floor. Heero cursed as he caught Relena as she toppled backwards her face pale and sweating. "Enough!" he growled as Sally.

Sally nodded in agreement and quickly assessed Relena's condition. Her breathing was accelerated, she was having palpitations, and she was perspiring and felt cold. Sally quickly administered a sedative and watched as Relena's heart rate and breathing returned to normal. She squeezed Relena's hand and murmured sorry to her, but she was aware that Relena could not hear her.

"Well?" Quatre asked.

"As we suspected, Relena's nanobot is more sophisticated than yours. Hers is also controlling the beating of her heart. As just demonstrated, when Relena is put under the stress of trying to recall a history that isn't within her grasp, the bot acts to shut her down – render her unconscious." Sally said grimly.

"The purpose?" Trowa asked.

"I would suppose that the bot has only a limited amount of memory available. Great chunks of her memories are not there and I guess that if she is asked too many questions that would reveal her missing memories the bot acts to prevent more questions being asked." Sally hypothesised.

"She would be seen to faint, questions would be forgotten, and Holt would step in to explain that Relena was suffering from stress." Wufei finished.

Sally nodded in agreement. "But the worrying thing is that if the bot has the facility to do that –"

"Then it probably has a fail safe switch." Heero interrupted "If the bot renders her unconscious for unanswerable questions, it probably does something more extreme if it is interfered with."

"More extreme than that?" Duo questioned pointed at the unconscious Relena.

"More extreme as in dead." Heero clenched his fist in anger. Duo wisely said no more.

Lady Une sat in her office. She was agitated and was biting an elegant fingernail. Across the room from her a man was looking out her office window. His tall figure was silhouetted by the sunshine pouring in making it impossible for her to discern his facial expression. Dr Holt sat opposite her looking at his palm top computer.

"Interesting readings coming through." He advised, "Elevated pulse and respiration. I should imagine that Relena has been undergoing a questioning."

"So…. she isn't dead yet." The man at the window said softly

"No, but based on the readings I'm getting, its just a matter of time." Dr Holt smiled.

"It had better happen soon." The man said sharply as he span around and strode over to the Dr. He placed a hand on the doctors shoulder and squeezed it firmly causing the Dr to wince "We cannot easily proceed until she is out of the way." Holt nodded his agreement and began to mumble about it being a certainty.

Lady Une held up her hand with a now ragged nail. "Sir, everything is ready." she said "As soon as Relena is dead the press conference will go ahead, the pilots will be confirmed as the murderers of our beloved minister and ESUN will announce war against all who supported the pilots. The colonies will seek the protection of ESUN and will join once again with us and you will step forward as the new leader of the earth and colonies." Lady Une smiled at the man, who tossed his long blond hair over his shoulder and smiled coolly back. 

"Yes, I will take my sister's place and lead the Earth to greatness." Said Millardo Peacecraft.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

LOL, I'm pleased I managed to surprise the majority of you with the little twist in plot in chapter 14! Hopefully I have your attention now and you'll stay with me till the end of the story. Its shaping up to be around 22 chapters long, so I hope you wont all get bored by the time I post the last one

Thanks again to all those kind people who reviewed: Vanessa, Ninny, Bronwyn, miss_qullie04, sasami, stephanie (*smiles sagely* all will be revealed in due course - I will endeavour to have all threads tied up, especially for people who are so good at guessing plot development!), mscad, Meio-Sei No Musume, Tenoko, deathangel, moonlit, Ayanami_Chan, *Relena*, apol, Crystal (Im curious to know which ML recommended this fic, and thanks for the compliments!), ~*Ai*~Wing, The Pretty Penwriter, and Sorrow.

Standard Disclaimer: I don't own GW, just the plot contained in this story and one rather annoying character who goes by the name of Dr Holt.

Chapter Fifteen

Relena sat on the bed, cross-legged, eyes closed and breathed deeply. She ignored the pilots and Dr Po who were leaving her well alone. Relena had woken from a drug-induced sleep, her head sore and her chest tight. She recalled the unsettling questions that Sally Po had asked her. She did not like her inability to answer them. 

Once again Relena worked on basic relaxation techniques, tensing muscles then relaxing them one by one. Her breathing was soft and regular. When she had achieved a state that she considered calm, Relena would force herself to remember one thing that should be so easy to recall. How did she meet her fiancé Basil. She struggled with the thought, trying to recall not the moment, not the exact day, but the circumstance. Was it at a party, was it at a conference, or maybe a visit to a hospital. Relena felt her heart start to palpitate, her breathing coming faster, her palms become sweaty. Was it through an introduction from a friend, a chance meeting, or did he have business with the ministry. Relena's arm started to ache, her fingers were tingling.

"Stop it!" Heero shook her gently. "Stop doing this to yourself!" he had come to her unnoticed and was crouched in front on her, hands on her arms. He looked to Relena concerned and maybe a little afraid, and it struck Relena odd that the man responsible for the murder of her father and also responsible for her abduction should be afraid for her safety.

"I need to remember." She said hoarsely, her voice betraying how upset she felt. "I cant remember things that I ought to…its…its just not right."

"Relena, we are working on making your memories return, you need to be patient and not push yourself." Heero was now sitting beside her, one leg tucked under him and his arms folded. "We explained that to you." He watched as she nodded and waited until her breathing evened again. "I am curious about something," he said hesitantly. Relena raised an eyebrow indicating that he could continue. Heero looked at a spot on the floor "Do you have any memories about me?" He looked up directly into her eyes "About us?"

Relena blinked "I remember you killing my father and trying to kill me." She said bluntly. Heero tensed and stood up. Relena looked back at the spot on the floor that had interested Heero shortly before "However I find it difficult to match those memories with the Heero Yuy here." Relena started to pant, and Heero crouched beside her again.

"Don't try." He said urgently and reached out to stroke her hair. Relena looked into his eyes again and could not look away.

"I have memories of you telling me you would kill me." She said softly "Yet I don't have any fear associated with those memories."

Duo, who had been listening to their conversation with interest, sat beside Relena and grinned at her "That would be because those are true memories. Heero was always saying he was going to kill you." Heero glared at him, but Duo laughed at Relena's horrified expression "He never meant it, he couldn't kill you" Duo assured her "Ya know, when we first met I thought Heero was going to kill you and I shot him. You threw yourself in front of my gun to stop me shooting him again. I thought then that you were a little crazy, but very brave." Duo sighed "It will be nice to have my Lena back."

Sally walked in, looking at some notes, then came to stand in front of Relena. She smiled trying to be reassuring, but Relena felt trapped and scared.

"Have you been able to find a way of deactivating the bot without harm to Relena?" Sally asked, looking at Heero.

"I contacted Dr J, and he suggested a way that I could hack into the bots programming and override the failsafe mechanism." Heero confirmed "I have written the code, its just a matter of trialing it."

"Seems like Dr J knows more about these bot things than he was letting on, wouldn't surprise me in the least." Duo commented, and Heero nodded grimly.

"I intend to find out just how much he knows after we deactivate it." He said.

"OK, so we are ready to attempt to deactivate the bot." Sally said "Relena, I won't do this unless you agree to it." Heero looked like he was going to protest, but Sally held up her hand to stop him "No Heero, this has to be Relena's choice." She turned her attention back to Relena "You know that there is something wrong, Relena, otherwise you wouldn't have this reaction to trying to remember past events. However, there is an element of risk in deactivating this bot. I can't promise you that your memories will return, it may be that you won't regain them. It may be that we get an adverse physical reaction to deactivation."

Relena bit her lip "I need to be able to remember Dr Po. You have all treated me well and I know that all is not right with my current memories. You have kidnapped me and I have considered whether you are the ones interfering with my memories." Heero frowned at this. "But if you planned to do me harm, I doubt that you would seek my permission." Relena continued. She looked at Sally. "I will put myself into your hands."

Heero drew a sigh of relief and smiled at her, Duo gave her a hug. Wufei, Trowa and Quatre had all entered the room as Sally had been talking.

"Lets hope we get it right." Trowa murmured, and Wufei and Quatre could only nod in agreement.

"If we don't, it will mean a war." Quatre said, watching as Sally attached electrodes to Relena's temples and pulse points on her chest under her top.

"Relena is in the best of hands." Wufei said confidently, watching Sally work.

"Relena, I am going to give you a mild sedative. Just to relax you, it won't render you unconscious." Sally said as she tapped the back of Relena's hand. "First of all, though, I want to put a line in your hand so that if something does go wrong we will be able to administer medication and fluids quickly. Its just standard medical practice."

Relena looked away as Sally, satisfied that she had a suitable vein, proceeded to place a catheter in it. Sally taped it firmly in place, then injected a saline solution through to check that it was placed properly. Then she injected a small amount of clear fluid in, and Relena felt a slight burning sensation in the back of her arm. She smiled as her eyelids felt a bit heavy, and Sally smiled back. 

"You might want to lie down now, honey." Sally suggested, and Heero helped make Relena recline on the bed. "Ok, next I need to place these electrodes on your chest. These are only precautionary. The bot seems to be controlling the beating of your heart, and if it sends a signal that stops your heart, these electrodes will send a mild electrical current to a couple of areas on your heart and will regulate your heartbeat. Basically they will act as a pace maker."

Heero had moved away and was taping furiously into his laptop, double-checking the program. 

"We know that the signal from the bot is being monitored. Any interference with it would normally be recorded and sent to the person monitoring the bot. I have written a program that will make the bot send the previous twenty minutes of data in a continual loop. That way, Une and Holt will believe that you are still under their control" he said.

"To what end?" Relena asked sleepily

"To keep information from Une." Heero answered, and Relena smiled

"….chess…" she murmured.

Heero finished typing and looked at her "Yes, like a chess game. We are going to make our opponent think we are attacking one way, when in fact we are sneaking up another."

"OK, lets talk chess later." Sally said, then smoothed back Relena's hair. "Just stay calm. Remember we are all here with you and nothing bad is going to happen. Are you ready?"

Relena and Heero both nodded. Relena closed her eyes.

"Begin" Sally instructed.

Heero typed a few commands into the laptop. "Looping sequence standing by. Deactivate program started." He reported.

Sally looked at her monitor. Relena's heartbeat was rapid and she was panting. Her blood pressure was elevated.

"My…. arm…..hurts" Relena complained, wriggling her fingers "feels all pins and needles".

Sally held Relena's wrist, feeling her pulse and comparing with what her monitors were relaying. Relena suddenly pulled her arm away, clutching at her chest. Her eyes rolled back and she lay back still. The monitor showing her heart beat suddenly started to alarm, as it recorded a heart rate that was abnormally elevated, but erratic. Heero came to his feet in alarm.

"Sally!" he warned.

"I'm on it!" Sally said curtly, already activating the pacemaker. Relena gasped again as the pacemaker started regulating her heartbeat, but her eyes didn't open and she didn't move. Sally altered the controls gradually bringing the beat of her heart back into a normal rhythm.

Heero sat down again, and glanced over to where the other pilots were standing watching. Duo grinned and wiped his brow mouthing "Phew". Heero rolled his eyes and looked back at his monitor. "Bot has now deactivated. False signal loop in place. I am deleting the database."

Sally was monitoring Relena's respiration, and she nodded in satisfaction. "As soon as I am satisfied that her heart is stable, I will take her off the pacemaker." She said smiling at the others "Looks like we did it."


	16. Chapter Sixteen

Ooops, in my hurry to get this posted I forgot to do two things. Firstly a warning

WARNING: Contains fluff and a little lime

Second - thanks to those people who reviewed chapter 15: - Penybright, Tenoko, Sorrow, Sai, The Pretty Penwriter, mscad, Wing, deathangel, moonkitty, scarfy - what the heck??, mike, Kitty Kat, Arabella Figg, Ayanami Chan, TokyoFlame, Silver Wing, Sailor Angel, Rackel, and last but not least Stephanie (sorry you thought it was an anticlimax, but hey I was working towards it for the last three chapters! And that was the nicest bit a criticism I have ever had, and I really don't mind! I believe you can only improve your work when people point out its faults!)

Thanks to you all I made my target of 100 reviews! I am amazed, as I really didn't think I would get nearly that many. Anyway, on with the story (usual disclaimers etc….)

Chapter 16

"I don't like this plan." Heero said again. His arms were crossed and he was glaring at the others in the room with him. "It has too many unnecessary risks."

"How do you propose to proceed?" Wufei countered. "We are flying blind! We don't know what Une is up to, this is our best opportunity to find out!"

"No!" Heero gave his best death glare.

Once Relena had been stabilised, the pilots had all left her in the care of Sally and had moved to the coms room to formulate a plan. The consensus was that they needed more information as to what Une was trying to do and why. Wufei had stated that the obvious way forward was to plant Relena back in the Ministry where she would have direct access to the Une. Heero had immediately objected, his mission was to protect Relena and not use her as some kind of mole.

"Guys, perhaps we should consult with Relena about this." Quatre said calmly.

"No!" Heero growled again.

"Buddy, you know that she will want to help." Duo pointed out.

"No!" Heero unfolded his arms, his hand hovering near his belt where Duo knew he kept his gun. Duo decided to remain quiet. Trowa had no such compulsion.

"You are being foolish, Yuy" Trowa said calmly. "Time is against us."

Quatre nodded "He is right Heero. People are going to speculate about Relena not being in public soon. If Une's intention is to upset the peace process, which seems likely, she is going to announce that Relena has been kidnapped by us sooner than later. I imagine the only reason she hasn't so far is that she has been waiting for confirmation of Relena's death."

"No!" Heero again protested. "I am going to contact Dr J first before I will even consider Relena going back. J has been too knowledgeable about all this bot technology. Its time he tells us all he knows."

As Heero moved to the communications panel Sally entered the room. She looked tired, but was smiling.

"Relena is awake." She said, "She is asking for you Heero."

Heero stopped in his tracks, looked at the coms panel and then to the door through which Sally had come.

"Go" said Quatre pushing Heero lightly in the direction of the door. "I'll contact J."

Heero nodded once then hurried to see Relena, closing the door behind him.

Relena was awake and smiling a genuine welcoming smile. The catheter was out of her hand, cottonwool covered with some tape covered the small hole the needle had left. The pacing electrodes had been removed, and the machines around her were switched off. 

Heero moved to her quickly, and gathered her in his arms. She hugged him back tightly, her face buried in his neck. He felt her shake a little and heard her sniff. When he pulled back he found to his surprise that she was quietly crying. 

"I'm sorry" Heero said quietly, wiping the tears away with his fingers "I should have been there to stop this. I promised that I would take care of you and I let you down." He pulled her close to him again, rocking her gently back and forth.

After a few minutes, he felt her sigh and say in a muffled voice.

"This is nice…….but do I know you?"

Heero froze. He pulled away from her, his hands on her shoulders looking into her eyes intently. Relena grinned

"Just kidding!" she whispered. 

Heero let out the breath he had been holding and glared at her. "That's. Not. Funny." He growled.

Relena kept smiling. "Well, lets just call it pay back for shooting at me!" she retorted.

"I didn't shoot at you, I shot at the car." Heero stopped frowning and reached out to push Relena's hair back behind her ear. "Are you alright? Really?" he kept caressing her hair and Relena reached out to stroke his messy bangs. Heero captured her hand and raised it so that she could see the engagement ring. "Did Holt try anything with you?"

Relena looked at the ring as if for the first time, and she frowned. "No, he didn't Heero. He was always very polite, very nice. But we weren't intimate." Relena pulled the ring off and Heero raised her hand to his lips kissing the finger that was now ringless. Relena sharply drew breath at the sensation and snuggled closer to him. He moved her hand away from his lips and to his check, tilting her head up with his other hand. "Thank you for rescuing me." She whispered as his lips came down on hers. Gently he kissed her, slow, light kisses. Her hand caressed his check to his jaw line then lightly down the back of his neck.

Heero's mouth left hers and gently kissed down to her neck. He took a deep breath and pulled away, Relena whimpered as the pleasurable sensations stopped. She looked up at him questioningly and saw that he wasn't looking at her, but towards the door where Quatre stood looking very embarrassed.

"Sorry to interrupt you, but Dr J is not responding to calls." Quatre said, red faced. He didn't wait for a response from Heero, but turned and fled back to the other room.

"Go Heero" Relena said quietly. "This is neither the time nor the place for us."

Heero stood and looked down at Relena. "Once this mess is sorted I will make the time and find the place."

"Is that a promise or a threat Mr Yuy?" Relena asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Both." Heero answered.

Lady Une stood at the podium, and calmly surveyed the audience of reporters. She cleared her throat, signalling that she was about to begin her speech. The reporters stopped their softly murmured discussions and fell silent, microphones held forward, cameras filming and still cameras poised.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the Press. Thank you for attending. On Monday evening, Miss Relena Darlian, Foreign Minister for ESUN, was kidnapped. The abduction took place outside her office and was a highly skilled and organised operation. Whilst we believe that it is in the public's best interest to be advised of such occurrences, as we had not received a ransom demand for Miss Relena it was decided that details of her abduction would remain confidential. The best hope for Miss Relena's safe return, it was believed, would be discretion. We hoped that we would receive a demand and be able to negotiate the ministers return." Une paused for effect, before forcing a tremor into her voice and continuing. "I regret to inform you that today at twelve noon I received advice from the kidnappers that they have no intention of releasing Miss Darlian and that they intend to execute her for what they describe as the 'crime of being a dictator'. Whilst we will continue to do everything in our power to retrieve Miss Darlian, the indications are that the execution has already taken place."

Stunned silence met Une/s statement, then a multitude of flashes lit up her face as photos were taken. Lady Une held up a hand to shield her eyes. "Please Ladies and Gentlemen" she protested, as voices were raised, many people asking questions at once "One at a time" Une pointed at a reporter who had his hand up in the air.

"Who were the kidnappers?" he asked

"As I said earlier, the abduction was very well planned and carried out with military precision. The people who did this deed knew the Ministers likely schedule and took advantage of the knowledge. They also had the expertise to break through the very best Preventor security. The indications are that the people responsible were the ex Gundum pilots, the people who Miss Darlian was on the point of exposing and charging with war crimes against ESUN. These men have been missing since Relena was abducted."

"Are there plans for retaliation?" another person called out.

"We must all remain calm." Une said seriously "Now is not the time for revenge. We know that the pilots were originally funded by the colonies, but that does not mean that they are still funded by them. We must assume that they acted under their own volition. Certainly we will discover whether they had backing from the colonies. I would like to assure everyone that whoever is found to have funded or backed this vicious attack will feel the full force of ESUN's outrage."

"Who will take over post of Foreign Minister?"

"That is a decision that the President will have to make." Une smiled. "Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to hand the podium over to someone who would like to make a statement about Miss Darlian's death. Mr Millardo Peacecraft."

Millardo entered the room, his long blond hair bright with the flash photography. He looked emotional, his eyes red, his mouth grim. He nodded his thanks to Lady Une, who stood next to him, holding his arm supportively.

"I had not seen much of my sister over the last few years." Millardo swallowed deeply, his eyes blinking hard in an effort to hold back his tears. "I had left Earth for the colonies after the war. We kept in touch via vid phones, but it is never the same as being physically with someone. I returned to Earth as soon as I heard that Relena had been kidnapped. I wanted to plead with the kidnappers to return my little sister, that she was a good person who had achieved much and had so much more to achieve. I never got the chance to plead. They killed my sister. They didn't want money. They wanted her life. They wanted to stop her good works. They sneered at the peace that she held so sacred." Millardo wiped his eyes, his voice breaking. "Well, I am here now to tell them that I am going to continue with my sister's works. I will not allow them to win with my sister's death. I will see them tried as war criminals as my sister so rightly wished. I will see the people who supported them tried as criminals. They will not go unpunished. The colonies that supported this wicked and despicable act will know what justice feels like.

"It is also my intention to re-establish the Sanq Kingdom in memory of my dear sister. She had implored me on a number of occasions to return to Earth and take over the rule of our ancestral kingdom. To honour her, I intend to do just that. The Sanq Kingdom will shine bright again in remembrance of Relena." 

Millardo's voice broke and Lady Une supported him, moving him away from the podium.

"That is all, thank you people of the press." She said and led Millardo out of the room.

"We now return you to your scheduled program" the television announcer's voice came over the air. The television screen went black as it was switched off with a remote control.

"Oh, shit." Duo said.

"Une got tired of waiting for Relena to die." Quatre replied, closing his eyes.

"Next will be our names". Trowa said grimly.

They will name us and name the colonies we are affiliated to." Wufei rubbed the back of his neck.

"Then revenge attacks will happen, and war will follow." Heero folded his arms "Was that Une's intention all the time, to return us to a state of war?"

"Millardo did not sound like himself." All five pilots looked up to see Relena standing straight and determined. "He would not give up so easily if I was kidnapped and I certainly never invited him back to re-establish the Sanq Kingdom." She frowned "And where was Noin? She always goes wherever Millardo goes. I didn't see her at the press conference."

"Uh oh" Duo shook his head "No offence Lena, but I'm not looking forward to extracting another Peacecraft from Une's clutches."

"No, you won't have to." Relena replied. "We have all worked too hard on establishing peace for one woman to destroy it. Forget bringing Millardo here, we will go to Millardo. And to Une. I am going to find out what she is doing. How soon can you get me to earth?"

Heero was on his feet as soon as he heard her voice and by her side. Relena smiled reassuringly at him.

"Heero, I want to do this." She said "I cant hide away and watch everything we have achieved over the last six years disappear. I will go back and I will confront Une. What can she do if I confront her in public?"

"Apart from kill you?" Duo piped up.

"Would she?" Relena asked "If I make an unannounced appearance at a televised press conference, how could she?"

"Miss Relena, we don't know how many people have been infected with the nanobots." Quatre pointed out. "You could walk in there and find everyone against you."

"I just don't know why she is doing this." Relena frowned "If I knew her motivation, then maybe we could anticipate what her next move would be."

Sally rubbed the back of her neck and sighed. "It could be that there is no motivation. You are all aware of her differing personalities during the war. It could be that the shock of Mariemaia's death has caused her to relapse. She should have been stable though, she was on medication."

There was silence as everyone considered this.

"Une gave you no clue during your time alone." Trowa finally asked.

"No." Relena shook her head "Everything seemed to be normal. I honestly had no idea that anyone was acting differently. The only policy that I remember to be different was the War Criminal Bill." She suddenly looked up "But there is one thing – Dr J. He was at Preventor HQ on at least one occasion to see Basil."

"Are you sure?" Heero asked frowning.

"Absolutely sure." Relena replied "It was he that gave me the spray that I used on you and Trowa when you rescued me. He had been visiting Basil, I don't know why, but on his way out he gave me the spray and said that it was a new development of his and I should keep it on me for protection. Basil had just given me a gun so I said no, but he insisted. He said that it wouldn't permanently harm anyone so it was much more suited to me as a defensive weapon than a gun."

Heero blinked. He turned to his laptop and began typing furiously. Without looking up or stopping typing he began to issue orders.

"Trowa and Quatre, you will go to L1 and pick up Dr J. Find out exactly what he knows. He did not tell us that he had recently had contact with Basil and Relena. He has too much knowledge about nano technology. That makes him untrustworthy. He needs to be detained."

"Understood." Trowa confirmed. Heero kept typing.

"The rest of us will return to Earth. Duo, you need to rig up a sensor to detect radio frequency emissions from the nanobots. Cannibalise this station for parts. It needs to be small and powerful. We might not be able to get too close to Millardo to see what sort of bot he has been infected with."

"Sure thing." Duo nodded and went to work.

"Sally, pack up your medical equipment and load it on the shuttle." Heero continued "Wufei, prep the shuttle for return to earth." Both Preventors left the room.

Relena walked up behind Heero and placed her hands on his shoulders, gently massaging his muscles.

"Don't worry." Heero kept typing, but tried to sound as confident and reassuring as he could. "We won't surrender this peace."


	17. Chapter Seventeen

Ok, I made a mistake. Chapter 18 was equally short as 17, so rather than face all sorts of complaints about posting another short chapter I have added it to the end of 17. Oh, and interestingly enough up to now this chapter has had nearly three hundred hits, but only 20ish reviews. So 280 of you owe me a review ^_^ Sorry to those who have already reviewed 17, you wont be able to comment on the addition until later.  
  
Also the next chapter contains a lemon. I am thinking that I will publish the lemon free version here and if there is demand publish the one that contains a lemon separately. That way this story can continue as PG13 and wont offend any readers that don't like lemons.  
  
I have invested subscribing to ff.net support services for the next three months so for those who are interested you can use the author alerts to be notified when the next few chapters are posted. My ID is 91097.  
  
Once again I would like to thank those that reviewed chapter sixteen: Stephanie (nothing like a little pressure re good ending, eh?!), ~*Ai*~Wing, Ashy, mscad, deathangel, LadyLuka, The Pretty Penwriter, apol x2!, Arabella Figg, Cynthia, Silver Wing, Tenoko (everyone loves a cliffhanger!), Kitty, Sai, Artemis Nightingale, and mya. Thanks so much guys - reviews always make it easier to write!  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter Seventeen  
  
Trowa and Quatre had departed more or less straight away for L1 on their mission to find and detain Dr J. The others had not left the space station until around 10 hours later. It had taken time for Duo to complete his scanner, and Sally did not want to rush packing her delicate medical equipment. When they were finally ready Heero powered down the station after the others had boarded the shuttle. He then floated effortlessly to the air lock where Relena was waiting.  
  
"Will you come back here?" She asked watching him lock the door and code in security sequences.  
  
".?" Heero glanced at her questioningly.  
  
"This was your hideaway from everyone." Relena explained "Something I am very envious of. A place where no one can find you, where you can be alone and not be interrupted. A place where you can do what you want to do. Now we know about it will you come back here or find some other place?"  
  
Heero finished with the airlock and took her arm guiding her to a seat. "It is a good place to be alone, but after all these years I have found that I don't like being alone as much as I used to." He helped strap her in, pulling the belts tight, feeling the clearance between the straps and her shoulders to gauge that he had them adjusted correctly. "Anyway, I could always tow it to a new location if I feel it needs to be secret again."  
  
Relena smiled "Just like a gypsy, wandering the stars." She sighed "Now I really am envious.."  
  
Heero smirked, then made his way to the pilots seat. Duo was there already and had finished the pre-flight checks.  
  
"Everything A OK." Duo grinned and glanced over his shoulders. "All passengers on board?" he pointed at Sally, then Wufei and Relena counting "Check! This is your Captain speaking. I would like to welcome you aboard Maxwell Airlines flight 02 from where ever the hell we are to the old Sanq Kingdom, Earth. We should be arriving at our destination around midnight. The weather in the Sanq Kingdom is hot and liable to get a lot hotter after we arrive. Please, ladies and gentleman, ensure that your seat is in the upright position and the tray is stowed. Once again we would like to - ooof" Duo broke off as Heero slapped the side of his head.  
  
"Just fly" Heero growled, disconnecting the seal between the station and the shuttle.  
  
"You're the boss." Duo assented, and pressed a control to vent some gas from the side of the shuttle, which gently manoeuvred the shuttle away from the station. He then engaged the engines and piloted the shuttle away.  
  
  
  
The trip was uneventful, as was the decent into Earth's atmosphere. They were not challenged or even hailed as they made flew into Sanq airspace. Duo and Heero glanced at each other, both clearly unhappy that there had been no confrontation.  
  
"I've got a bad feeling about this." Duo murmured "It feels like a trap - Une ought to have defences set up, unless she wants us to come this way. I hate trying to second guess that woman."  
  
"We will land were we planned to. If it is a trap, then Une will spring it soon enough. No point worrying about it." Heero said and he piloted the shuttle to a rough landing strip that they had built and used on occasions in the past. It was in the middle of a remote forest at the edge of the Sanq Kingdom and was originally created by stray Gundam fire during a battle in the Oz conflict. The forest had been so heavily scared by the battle that the landing strip did not stand out from the air.  
  
"As soon as we land be prepared to disembark immediately." Heero called over his shoulder to Relena, Sally and Wufei. "We don't know what's coming and we don't want to be sitting targets."  
  
Relena nodded her understanding, whilst Sally quickly stowed a few pieces of medical equipment into a backpack. She saw Relena watching her curiously.  
  
"Just in case we have to make a run for it." Sally explained "I want to have a few essentials."  
  
"Sit down and strap yourself in, woman" Wufei grabbed Sally's arm and forced her down into her chair. "We are landing and with your sense of balance you will probably fall over and break your leg. The last thing I need is to have to carry you out of this forest."  
  
Sally scowled at Wufei but didn't argue. Almost as soon as she had sat down they were all jostled in their seat as the shuttle made contact with the landing strip. Relena gripped the armrests of her chair as she felt her body lurch forward as the shuttle slowed. The whole shuttle felt like it was shaking apart and the engines whined as they were put into reverse to slow the forward motion.  
  
"Don't worry." Wufei had seen Relena's expression "This strip is basic and not sealed as commercial landing strips are. We have used this before with a shuttle of this size and not encountered problems."  
  
Relena nodded and felt relief as the shuddering gentled and then stopped as the shuttle came to a halt. She fumbled with her seat belt buckle and stood as Heero came out of the cockpit, gun in hand. Wufei opened the shuttle door. It was dusk and the forest looked eerie with the lengthening shadows. Heero pressed himself to the edge of the door and peered out scanning the area for any movement.  
  
"No incoming on radar" called Duo who had remained in the cock pit "Looks like we are in the clear."  
  
"Stay here, I am going to do a search of the perimeter." Heero instructed the others, and jumped out of the shuttle landing in a crouch some six feet below. Immediately he ran to the edge of the trees and disappeared from sight.  
  
"Still no incoming." advised Duo "I think we may have finally got one step ahead of Une."  
  
"Don't underestimate her." Wufei said quietly, looking out of the shuttle door into the dusk. He had taken his gun out, safety off. "She is a highly trained professional regardless of which personality she is currently using. I do not like having her as an enemy." Wufei stiffened and aimed with his gun out the door, then relaxed and put the safety back on before holstering the weapon.  
  
Heero jogged up to the shuttle.  
  
"All clear." He reported. "Let's move."  
  
"Ladies first." Duo said as he moved from the cockpit to the cabin, picking up the boxed scanner he had developed.  
  
Relena hesitated at the edge of the door, then sat down legs dangling over the edge. Heero had put his gun away and lifted his arms to catch her as she shuffled forward and dropped. Relena suppressed a shriek as she fell, and merely squeaked as she felt Heero's strong arms around her. The impact made Heero stumble back a pace or two, then he gently placed her on her feet.  
  
"Thank you" Relena whispered looking up at him.  
  
"Your welcome" Heero bent his head and claimed a quick kiss from her.  
  
"Hey!" called Duo "Mind on the job at hand if you don't mind."  
  
Heero glared up at Duo for interrupting them, then dashed forward to catch the box that Duo had suddenly thrown down. Relena was shoved to the side in Heero's haste.  
  
"Idiot!" Heero called up to Duo "At this point the scanner is irreplaceable."  
  
"Catch me, my Heero!" Duo called in a falsetto voice and jumped down aiming at Heero. Heero neatly side-stepped and walked back to Relena's side as Duo impacted with the ground.  
  
"Owww" Duo complained rubbing his leg, which had been jarred in the impact. "Ooofh" Heero threw the box at Duo and he caught it mainly with his stomach.  
  
Wufei was next to disembark, wearing the backpack that Sally had loaded during the landing. "Need a hand?" he called up to Sally. Sally glared at him again and gracefully dropped to the ground.  
  
"No" she said adjusting the straps of her own backpack.  
  
Heero moved to a control pad located on the wheel of the shuttle, keyed in a number and then the door of the shuttle slowly closed and locked.  
  
"Time to move." He said as he took Relena's hand and started off into the woods.  
  
  
  
Dr Basil Holt frowned. His computer display showed a smiling image of Relena Dorlian, with the current readings sent by her nanobot. He concentrated on the pattern, then keyed in an instruction and a historic overview of heart rate, blood pressure and brain activity was displayed.  
  
"Damn." He said softly and he compared the pattern at twenty-minute intervals. "I've been had."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
Basil jumped startled as he thought he had been alone in his office. Lady Une was standing by the door observing him.  
  
"Really Lady, must you do that." Basil frowned at him "You take years off my life every time you sneak up on me."  
  
"Sorry Basil, but you are such an easy target." Une smiled and walked up to Basil's desk sitting on the corner. "Now who has had you?" she asked again.  
  
Basil turned the laptop so that Une could look at the read out.  
  
"Look at the pattern. It's a pattern that is repeating every twenty minutes. You just don't get that happening normally. People don't operate that robotically." Basil shook his head as he folded his arms still regarding the printout. "Those pilots have managed to reprogram the new version nanobot. God knows how they did it, but they have."  
  
"What does that mean?" Une was bent forward looking at the screen intently. Her brown hair falling forward to hide her face.  
  
"It means one of two things. One, they have managed to deprogram Relena and are feeding false information for what ever reason." Basil shook his head unable to comprehend how they were able to achieve this.  
  
"Or two?" Une prompted.  
  
"Relena is dead, as we planned, and they are trying to hide her demise." Basil answered looking directly at Une trying to gauge her reaction.  
  
"Probability?" Une again asked.  
  
Basil thought for a second, then answered "I really cannot believe that they were able to deprogram her without killing her. Not without help from the designer. I would say she is dead and they are trying to hide it."  
  
Lady Une crossed her arms. "And you are the sole designer of this bot."  
  
Basil looked startled. "Of course I am, you know that I am the creator of this technology." Une stared at him and Basil started to look edgy. "I am the sole creator and designer. I did not help the pilots if that is what you are implying."  
  
"Of course not." Lady Une looked out of the office window "I am not accusing you of anything my dear old friend. I just wanted confirmation that no one could be helping the pilots. So, Relena is finally dead."  
  
"Yes, the evidence would point to that." Basil frowned at Lady Une. "Er, my condolences" he said weakly.  
  
Une turned around and stared at Basil, then slowly smiled.  
  
"Thank you Basil. But I never really knew her. And how can I truly mourn someone that I never really knew." Lady Une flicked an imagined spot on the sleeve of her uniform. "I will go and inform Millardo of Relena's not unexpected death. I am sure that he will be as devastated as I am."  
  
Lady Une nodded and walked out of the room. Basil stared after her for a while, then swallowed.  
  
"I am going to be in deep shit if Lady Une ever finds out about Dr Js involvement." He murmured, rubbing his forehead. He was beginning to get a headache.  
  
  
  
  
  
Quatre and Trowa had arrived on L1 without incident and had immediately started their search for Dr J. They had visited his flat, which was empty of both personal possessions and furniture. When they located the landlady, she advised that the Doctor had vacated several days before. He had paid up the rent to the end of the tenancy agreement and told the landlady that he would not be renewing.  
  
From there Quatre and Trowa moved on to the laboratory. Security was still operating, they could get in as far as the lift but no further. Trowa decided that they did not have time to be elegant in the means of their entry, and set a small charge in the base of the elevator. Once that had blown the floor of the elevator had largely disappeared and they were able to absail down to the level of the laboratory. Brut force opened the doors into the lab.  
  
The main room of the laboratory was empty, equipment stripped. The only thing that remained was a screen with a disc player. On top of the screen was a disc. Quatre and Trowa looked at each other, then Trowa shrugged and placed the disc in the player and activated the screen. A recording of Dr J leapt into life, the Dr hunched over and not looking directly at the screen. He looked old and sad.  
  
"Heero, I anticipated that you would call to see me and I would imagine that I am correct in guessing that it is not a social call. You believe that I am involved in the nanobot technology. And, much to my shame, the answer is yes. I am involved. I was one of the original designers. Dr Holt and myself developed the technology.  
  
"The original idea came from Dr Holt. He was very unhappy after his unfortunate accident that he could no longer help children with congenital heart disorders and was looking for another way to utilise his medical knowledge. He had the idea of a nanobot that could regulate the heartbeat of a heart that was not beating correctly, a much more refined method than the existing pacemaker - no need for batteries to be replaced or the worry of a unit becoming faulty. I agreed that it was a brilliant idea. But then I did something I think I shall regret for the rest of my life. I suggested other uses of a nanobot should we be successful with that version.  
  
"I trained you, Heero, to become the perfect soldier. But I always felt I had failed as in the end you followed your heart rather than your mind. I am ashamed to say that I thought that I could with this technology create an actual perfect soldier. One who would follow orders without hesitation, without questioning." Dr J's image shook his head. "It was wrong, Heero, I know it was. Once the prototype had successfully passed all computer generated tests Basil and I agreed to write up our findings and bring them before the General Medical Council for approval for further testing on live subjects.  
  
"However, before the papers were written Basil was offered the position of Physician to Miss Darlian. He accepted, and at that time I grew a little suspicious of his motives. It was a move that was completely out of character for him. After a little time had passed I went to visit Basil in the Sanq Kingdom. It was then that I realised that Basil was conducting tests on live subjects, on human beings. I knew this when I encountered Miss Darlian and she did not recognise me.  
  
"After I had seen her with Basil, I pondered what to do. I made enquiries and found that you and all your comrades had left Earth for destinations unknown. Then I heard rumours of the Justice Committee and its purpose. I revisited Basil, and managed to see Miss Darlian alone. I gave her a repellent spray that I had developed for protection. I told Basil that it was infected with nanobots whose purpose would be when triggered to burst blood vessels in the brain and cause instant death." Dr J sighed, and Trowa visibly swallowed. "Although I had bots that could do that, the spray I gave to Relena was bot free. She is a pacifist and I could not willingly add to the wrongs that had already been done to her. That was all I felt I could do. I then returned to L1 and waited for you to make contact with me, as I knew you would. And I assisted you the best I could to rid young Quatre and Miss Darlian of the nanobots."  
  
Dr J shifted on his seat then looked directly at the camera for the first time. "I am sorry. I have hurt you by supporting Dr Holt, and I had promised myself that I would do all I could do to help you. Why did I do it? Well my boy, I suppose that all I did, all I have ever done, was in the name of science. I am afraid that is what drives me, nothing else.  
  
"I am sorry for that which happened to Relena and Quatre, but I must confess to you that I am also fascinated by it. I don't think that I will ever be able to change my fascination for how we can manipulate people. That is my flaw and I will just have to live with it." Dr J suddenly grinned at the camera "I suppose that is if you let me! Someday we might meet up again, and by then I hope you can forgive a selfish old doctor. You were always a kind boy. Farewell."  
  
Dr J's image bowed his head, and the transmission terminated.  
  
Quatre and Trowa looked at each other.  
  
"We won't find him easily now." Trowa said.  
  
"No" Quatre agreed "And I don't think Heero will want us to." He picked up the disc and put it in his pocked "Lets get to the rendezvous point on Earth." 


	18. Chapter Eighteen

OK, for those who have not already done so, I would suggest you go and re-read chapter 17. After promising that all chapters after 17 were going to be long, I found 18 wasn't so I added it to the end of 17. I guess Im just too scared of all you reviews who keep saying "too short!".

Thank you to all who reviewed chapter 17 - mscad, mya, Carol, Silver Wing, Junsui Chikyuu, Artemis Nightingale (yeah - you're the one Im frightened of!^_^), Moonlit, deathangel, *Relena*, Wing, Ayanami Chan, Tenoko, Mara, Sai, Cynthia, Li-chan, apol, The Pretty Penwriter, Stephanie, Crystal, Bronwyn and Jaid Skywalker. Thanks guys, I do take note off all comments and I do appreciate good criticism - just ask Artemis Nightingale!

Ok, I suppose I better post warnings with this one

Warning: A little bit of lime.

There will probably be a lemon version of this chapter posted separately at a later date if there is demand.

Standard Disclaimer: Blah, blah, blah

Chapter 18

Heero guided the others through the woods with an unerring sense of direction. Relena tried to ascertain how he navigated – was it by the stars, or was he so familiar with the region that he needed no aid even in darkness. However he did it, they were soon out of the forest and after walking in open country for another hour or so came to a village. At it's boundaries the group paused hidden from the road by a small grove of trees.

"Duo, you come with me." Heero decided "Sally and Wufei, stay here with Relena." 

Sally nodded, and she and Wufei took off their backpacks. Relena looked at Heero, questioning.

"You can't be seen in public." Heero said, "We will be back as soon as we have a vehicle." He nodded at Duo and they both started jogging down the road into the town.

Relena watched them go, hugging herself. Now they had stopped walking she was beginning to feel the chill of the night air.

"Sit down Relena" Sally advised "They will probably be some time." Sally was sitting with her back to the tree, her eyes half closed. "Wufei will keep watch while we get some sleep." Wufei grunted but didn't object.

Relena sat down on the damp grass and drew her knees up to her chin, wrapping her arms around her legs. She peered up at the stars that were so familiar to her. Many times she had studied the stars in this kingdom trying to make sense of the issues she had encountered during the day. Never before had she gazed at them with such a desperate situation hanging over her.

"Worried about Millardo?" Sally asked quietly, not really wanting to disturb the other woman's musings.

"Yes, I suppose so." Relena sighed "It is my fault that he is in this mess, because he is my brother I mean. I see him so rarely and every time I do see him it is because of some crisis; the war, the Mariemaia affair, this. Perhaps once this is over he will stay here for a while."

"Perhaps." Sally agreed sociably.

"I think I am more worried about Noin." Relena frowned. "I know her better than Millardo. She was with me for such a long time before going with him to Mars. I think I really considered her a big sister, always there with good advice when I needed it. It sounds awful, but I missed her a lot more that I missed Millardo when they went away."

"I think that's only natural." Sally said "Millardo may be your brother, but you spent more time with Noin." Sally put a hand on Relena's shoulder. "Noin will be fine, she has always been able to take care of herself. We will get Millardo. Once we have got him back to his usual loving-brother self he will be able to help us locate Noin."

Relena nodded, her gaze returning to the stars. 

A little later Wufei suddenly appeared crouching before the two women, his attention on the road. In the distance travelling fast towards them came twin headlights of a vehicle. Sally grabbed her backpack, swung it on her back and crouched beside Wufei. In her hand was her gun, and Wufei was equally prepared. Relena remained by the tree watching the headlights wind their way up the road.

The vehicle slowed as it approached the trees and then stopped. The window rolled down and Duo waved out the window.

"Need a lift?" He asked grinning.

Heero got out of the passenger door and walked quickly around to Relena. He helped her to her feet and then guided her into the back of a station wagon making her sit in the middle whilst he sat by the window. Sally and Wufei slung their bags in the back of the car, then Wufei got in the front seat whilst Sally sat by Relena.

Relena noticed before the interior light was turned off by the doors shutting that there were sweet wrappers on the floor by her feet. She looked at Heero.

"I am guessing you didn't rent this car." She said. Heero looked puzzled by her statement.

"There are no car hire firms, it was a small town." He said.

"So you stole a car from a family." Relena frowned. She twisted slightly to look in the boot. Half hidden by the backpacks were two booster seats and a baby seat. "Oh Heero, you took a car from a family with three children!"

"We needed a large vehicle. This was the only one that we could get without difficulty." Heero said.

"But they will report it stolen." Relena argued "Then so much for secrecy."

"The family was not at home. The lawn was overgrown. They had obviously been away for some time. They will not miss the car." Heero said calmly.

"Princess, we know what we are doing." Duo said laughing as he started driving down the road. "Leave it to the professionals. And anyway, what family wouldn't be honoured to have helped the Queen of the Sanq Kingdom."

They drove for an hour, maybe a little more, before arriving at the capital of the Sanq Kingdom. Duo drove carefully so as not to draw attention to themselves. Finally he pulled up the driveway of a small house and turned off the ignition. The house was dark, no lights were on either inside or out. Heero undid his seatbelt and turned to Relena.

"I know, I know. Stay here. Keep inconspicuous." she said crossly.

"This is our destination." Heero said. "Stay here until Wufei checks it is still secure." As he spoke Wufei got out of the vehicle and moved quickly to the house.

"So whose house is this?" Relena asked, "Are we borrowing it as well?"

Heero looked a little embarrassed.

"It is your house." He said. Relena looked startled and looked at it again.

"My house." Relena repeated. "My house? Heero, I think that I would remember buying a house. Wouldn't I?" she looked nervous "Please don't tell me I had instructions from the bot to buy up Sanq real estate."

"You didn't buy it. As such" Duo explained "After the war with Oz, we decided to make sure we had safe places to lay low in if we needed to. You just funded one in your kingdom so we could be close at hand if you needed us. Never stayed in this one before, I think we have only had it six months." He laughed "We change houses more often than most people change cars. That way people don't become suspicious of a house that is empty for a long time."

"Hold it right there Mr Maxwell!" Relena frowned. "My funds. You mean you embezzled money from my accounts."

"Princess, you have healthy bank accounts. You didn't even notice the purchase price of a house gradually disappear from them." He winked at her "You ought to think of it as financing private security, rather than relying on ESUN funded security. Which, it turns out, is crap. And anyway, I for one don't care who owns it so long as it has a comfy bed to sleep on." Duo yawned, then looked over his shoulder "It is furnished, isn't it Heero?"

Relena looked from Duo to Heero, and then to Sally. Sally shrugged as it to say it was nothing to do with her. "Gentlemen, once this is over we are going to have a very long discussion the wrongs of stealing." Relena said firmly. "And I am having my accounts thoroughly audited."

"You should get Heero to do that." suggested Duo grinning broadly, ignoring Heero's warning glare "He is a whiz at accounting."

Wufei tapped on Duos window with his gun making Duo jump.

"All clear" Wufei reported. He looked over his shoulder then took off his jacket and handed it to Relena. "Put that over you hair and keep your self covered. The neighbours are nosy."

Relena looked past him and saw some curtains pulled back slightly and curious faces peering out at their car. She sighed and put the coat over her head so that just her face was peaking out then slid out of the car into the frosty air. Wufei took her arm and lead her swiftly up the front steps to the house. He had already opened the front door and the hall light was on.

Inside, the decor was simple yet comfortable. The door opened to a "L" shaped hall. The immediate doors off the hall led to a living area and a dining area. Directly ahead was the kitchen. Around the corner were more doors, which were closed. Wufei led her into the living area and retrieved his coat from her. Duo had gone straight to the kitchen and started looking through cupboards.

"Any food here?" He asked, "I'm starving." Upon opening the fridge he let out a gasp "….empty…." he moaned. 

"You will have to wait until the morning." Heero said calmly "There are dried rations in the cupboards if you are really hungry."

"Man, no one is EVER that hungry." Duo replied exiting the kitchen.

"Well, I suggest we sleep." said Sally "Are there beds in the rooms?" she asked Heero, who nodded affirmation.

"There is an airing cupboard in the hall, sleeping bags are in there. I am going take first watch. Wufei your second, Duo your third, Sally fourth." Heero intercepted Relena's expectant look. "You're not on watch Relena. Just get some sleep."

"Is there nothing I can do?" Relena asked irritated at being unable to help again. When she got no reply she shrugged. "Very well then. But I intend on having a shower first, unless you have any objections."

"Towels are in the same cupboard as the sleeping bags."

Heero had plugged in his laptop and didn't look up at her. She nodded anyway and went to the airing cupboard to get a sleeping bag and towel. She picked a room at random and on entering found it was a large room with a double bed draped with an empty duvet cover. There was a large built in wardrobe to one side, the doors of which were made from mirrors. There was no other furniture in the room. She looked at her self in the mirror, frowning at her crumpled clothes, tatty hair and dirty face. Relena retraced her steps to the bathroom and started running the shower.

She found in the vanity cupboard a bottle of cheap shampoo and conditioner. She opened the bottle and sniffed, grimaced at the nondescript smell. But she was so desperate to be clean she would have washed her hair with washing up liquid if she had to. After waiting a few minutes, Relena decided there was no hot water. She shrugged to herself, removed her dirty clothes and stood under the cold jet of water. By the time she had finished washing, she was convinced her lips would be blue. Her legs felt cold and shaking, and she thought that she would never get warm again.

Relena frowned at the pile of clothes on the floor. There was nothing for it but to put on her blouse and underwear again, that or sleep naked. She smiled at the thought as she dressed, imagining if they had to make a quick getaway how she would have to jump in the sleeping bag to the car like some strange caterpillar, or run naked. Now that would get Heero's attention. Relena finally finished dressing, wrapped the now damp towel around her waist. As she walked back to her room she ran her fingers through her hair trying to neaten it without the use of a comb. 

Relena unrolled her sleeping bag on the bed and got into it still wearing her blouse and underwear. The bed smelt faintly of mustiness and damp. Her hair was wet and cold and she knew it would look a fright in the morning. Relena wriggled her nose as she tried to get comfortable thinking that she would never be able to sleep.

When Heero peered into the room five minutes later she was deeply asleep. He watched her gently breathe from the doorway, before closing the door and leaving her to her dreams.

The next morning was clear and bright. Relena woke up to sounds of Duo humming. She quickly put her skirt on, wrinkling her nose at its crumpled and dirty state. She drew the curtains to let the sunshine in, rolled up the sleeping bag and put it in the wardrobe then walked down the hall to locate the others.

Duo was in the kitchen making a pot of coffee.

"Morning Princess" he greeted her with a large smile "Sleep well?"

"Surprisingly yes" Relena replied smiling back. "Where is everyone?"

"Wufei and Sally have gone shopping for some fresh provisions. Heero is in the shower." He nodded down the hall. "Want some coffee?"

"Do you have tea?" Relena asked.

"Yuck, foul stuff." Duo shuddered. "Haven't seen any, but-" he stopped interrupted by the doorbell. Instantly he went into bodyguard mode. Duo grabbed Relena's arm and walked swiftly down the hall to the bathroom. "It is probably fine, but to be on the save side get in there." He ordered opening the door "Lock the door. Tell Heero to keep the shower going and don't come out until I say." Not waiting for a response he pushed Relena into the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

The room was misty, sounds of water running indicated that the shower was on and in use. Relena locked the door and pressed her ear close to the wood trying to listen what was going on. Behind her the shower door opened and Relena looked over her shoulder at the noise. Gasping, she looked back at the door and closed her eyes.

"Don't look, don't look, don't look" she recited to herself, eyes closed tightly.

"What's happening?" Heero suddenly asked, his voice indicating that he was very close to her.

"Someone has come to the door. Duo said stay in here with the shower on." Relena explained, head still down, eyes closed.

"Come away from the door." Heero ordered and took her arm pulling her further into the steam, closer to the shower. He was now between her and the door. Relena cautiously opened her eyes and found herself looking at Heero's bare feet. Almost inexorably her gaze slowly rose travelling up his well-formed calves, to his muscular thighs to the brightly coloured towel that was wrapped around his waist. Relena almost felt herself sighing in relief and disappointment. Her gaze still slowly travelled up to his toned stomach, then his smooth tanned chest. Her heart did a little jump seeing his bare chest beaded with water droplets. She looked higher, past his shoulders square and strong, up to his face where she locked eyes with him.

Heero didn't seem uncomfortable with her scrutiny. His expression was serious, even though his wet hair was partially obscuring his intense blue eyes. Relena couldn't help herself. She reached up and smoothed the hair away from his face. He took hold of her hand and then bent his head down, his lips lightly grazing hers. Relena's own lips tingled at the light touch and she arched her head back unconsciously trying to make the contact between their mouths firmer. Her heart began to beat faster as she surrendered herself to the delights of being intimate with Heero.

******

Duo had opened the front door cautiously. A large woman stood there holding a plate balanced onto which appeared to be a large chocolate cake.

"Hello!" The woman beamed "My name is Margaret!"

Duo blinked and gazed at the cake.

"I'm your neighbour!" Margaret continued "I thought that I would pop over and introduce myself to you and welcome you to our neighbourhood. My goodness, this house has been empty for such a long time – we didn't think anyone was ever going to move in." Margaret paused smiling up at Duo, who seemed to stunned to reply. "….And you are?" Margaret prompted when she got no response.

"Duo" Duo said automatically. He looked over Margaret's shoulder in search of any enemy activity. Nothing. Just Margaret. And a cake. He looked at the cake. Margaret looked past Duo into the front hall of the house.

"Are you alone?" she asked, taking in the decor of the hall. "I saw you all arrive last night and got up early this morning to bake you a special welcome cake. I hope you like chocolate!"

Duo smiled. "I love chocolate" he reached for the cake, but somehow Margaret managed to shift position keeping it out of his reach.

"Is your wife here? You are married?" Margaret asked, "There seemed to be a number of you here last night, were they helping you move in?" She looked again around Duo. "Such a nice house, I always wanted to see what it was like inside." She hinted.

Duo grinned, a battle plan formed in his mind. "I would love to invite you in." he beamed and Margaret smiled back moving forward. The cake came within reach and Duo relieved her of it. "But I'm afraid my wife is in the shower at the moment. Perhaps later? Which house are you from?" Margaret looked automatically to the left, her hands still raised as if she hadn't realised the cake had been taken from her. "I'll pop over later and let you know when you can come." Duo said while moving back inside. "Thanks for the cake, bye now!" He closed the door.

Margaret looked down at her empty hands, then up at the door. "Bye!" she called weakly at the closed door and looking cross she made her way back to her house. "Bloody hippies. There goes the neighbourhood!" she murmured under her breath.

Inside Duo chuckled and he dipped his finger into the chocolate icing and licked it clean. As he walked past the bathroom towards the kitchen he called "All clear!" 

Duo put the cake on the kitchen bench, and opened a drawer to find a knife. He cut into the cake and then repositioned the knife to cut a section out to eat. Pausing, he considered and then repositioned the knife to make the section larger. He hesitated, counted how many slices could be obtained from the remainder of the cake, then made the section larger still before cutting it away. Duo grinned as he pulled the piece away from the rest of the cake. "Yummy, raspberry jam centre." He thought, then licked the knife clean before throwing it into the sink. 

Duo slowly ate the piece of cake, thinking that he would have to go over and tell Mrs Margaret what fantastic cakes she made, and could he have the recipe. Once he had finished he licked his lips, then turned towards the hall, listening to the noise of the shower still running. Relena had not yet emerged. Duo considered the situation for a moment, then walked back to the bathroom door. He knocked, then frowned as he heard a groan. Could "Margaret" have been a decoy, had the enemy gained access to the house whilst he was preoccupied with chocolate cake. He heard another moan of what sounded like pain from Relena. Quickly he pulled out his gun from his shoulder holster and flicked the safety off. He tried turning the doorknob, but the door was locked. Relena had followed his instructions. Duo shifted his weight onto his back leg, bringing his front leg up to kick the door in. As he was about to deal the blow to the door he heard distinctly:

"Uh…..Heero! ….. Please, I need…..I want you in me." 

Duo froze. He blinked. He swallowed. He slowly bought his leg down, made his gun safe and reholstered it. He moved shakily back to the kitchen all the while thanking God that he hadn't broken the door down. If he had, he would have been one very dead Duo. 

******

In the bathroom, Relena was limp and relaxed cradled against Heero's chest. He stroked her hair and kissed her temple.

"…Relena…." He looked into her eyes as she tipped her face up to look at him. "Are you ok?"

Relena smiled in a sleepy glow and nodded cuddling close to him. "I love you Heero" she murmured, needing to verbalise how she felt. She felt his arms tighten around her in response, but he didn't say anything. And Relena really didn't expect him to. One of the reasons why she loved him was because he was so reticent. The embrace she received and the kiss to her temple told her that he loved her. It was enough.


	19. Chapter Nineteen

Well, we are heading towards the end of this story. As I merged chapter 17 and 18 together, there will now only be 21 chapters and not 22 as previously advised. Remember, I am a paying member of ff.net, so if you want to add me to your author alerts you can do so.

Thanks to all those who read and reviewed the previous chapter. The extra benefits of being a paying member of ff.net include being able to see how many of you read and did not review! That chapter had over 400 hits, so if you didn't review last time please consider doing so this time. I really want to know what you think - it's the only way my writing can improve. Cheers!

Special thanks to: Nova, Tenoko, Lauren, ShiroKitsune (that was the longest review Ive had!), steph, Wing, ~sweetangel~, Anoni (patients is a virtue!), Li-chan, Bronwyn, Tomorrow, apol, Koneko_chan, deathangel, Arabella Figg, AyanamiChan, pokey, Carol, Kitty Kat, moonkitty, Sai, Relena, Artemis Nightingale, Silver Wing, The Pretty Penwriter, mya and mscad (couldn't believe how quickly you read it!).

I have also posted an alternative Chapter 18 for those over 17, entitled Stolen Lemon Memories. 

I do hope you enjoy this chapter - it's the one I had most fun with so far!

Chapter Nineteen

Relena sat stirring her coffee watching the others as they worked on a plan to extract Millardo and confront Une. She sat on an uncomfortable overstuffed sofa, Heero beside her working on his laptop. Since their intimacy in the bathroom Heero had not said much to her, but now as he worked he pressed his leg up to hers. She watched him out of the corner of her eye and delighted in the sensation of the contact and felt both reassurance and love from the simple gesture.

Duo had avoided them when they had emerged from the bathroom, apart from winking once at Relena when Heero was not watching. Relena had blushed and ignored the gesture. Wufei and Sally had returned an hour or so later with a shopping bag of groceries and a couple of plastic bags which contained clothes. Sally had tossed one to Relena, and inside she had found a cheap pair of jeans and a navy sweatshirt, together with a pair of blue sneakers. After gratefully changing into clean clothes, she had helped Wufei fry up some bacon and eggs for breakfast. After they had eaten Sally had attempted to fill the sink with hot water to wash the dishes, but she discovered there was no hot left.

"Who used all the water?" she had asked, and raised an eyebrow as Relena blushed again and Heero looked guilty before looking back down at his PC. Sally had not pursued the subject, but had given Duo a look that he correctly interpreted as 'You will tell me all the details later'.

Relena was jolted back to the present by Heero suddenly closing his laptop, drawing everyone's attention to him.

"We need to isolate Dr Holt. He is the key to Une's plan and he has to be removed." Heero began, not moving an inch away from Relena even though so many eyes were on him now. "He has just entered Preventor Headquarters using his pass. His personnel file gives the office he works from. I suggest we go and detain Dr Holt and encourage him to remove Millardo's bot."

The others nodded in agreement.

"We will use passes with alias identities to gain access to Preventor HQ – Une will have flagged our normal passes as being insecure." Heero reached into the laptop case and held up an assortment of passes like a hand of cards. "I'll select appropriate identities for us on the way there. Duo, you need to bring the scanner and assess how many people are infected. Hopefully numbers will be minimal." Duo nodded "Sally, you stay here with Relena."

Relena blinked and looked quickly at Heero. Heero, anticipating an argument, narrowed his eyes and waited. Relena looked away.

"Of course." She sighed "I will be too easy to recognise and will jeopardise the mission. I understand."

Relena started stirring her coffee again. She had reluctantly agreed, but now felt literally like the fifth wheel. She was used to being in control of events, guiding people's actions. Here she had no control or influence. She was not needed. She did not like the feeling of not being essential.

Her teaspoon clinked as it completed another circuit of her cup. Heero looked up and caught her gaze on him. He watched her stir the liquid and was about to comment when his laptop beeped demanding attention. He frowned at what he read, and using a remote control turned the television on.

Pictures of Duo, Wufei, Heero, Quatre and Trowa were being shown. The announcer was reading out their names.

"To recap, the Preventors have just released photographs of the prime suspects in the Relena Darlian murder. If you encounter these men, please do not approach them as they are armed and extremely dangerous. Ring the special Preventor hotline number. All calls will be treated as confidential."

Duo grimaced "Uh oh…." He said, then got up and moved to the window. Tweaking the curtains he looked out towards Margaret's home. Margaret was looking out of her window towards him in horror, phone to her ear he could see her calling someone. "Time to move on guys." He raised a finger and pointed it towards Margaret and flicked his thumb up mimicking a shooting action. A muffled shriek could be heard, and Duo chuckled.

"What are you doing?" Sally demanded.

"We had a visitor this morning." Duo said seriously, dropping the curtain back and bending to pick up the scanner. "Our friendly neighbour has just made the connection between me and the news item. No, Wufei, too late for that." Wufei had leapt up, hand on gun, looking like he was about to use force "Just saw her on the phone. I would say that in a matter of minutes this place is going to be swarming. And anyway, she makes a terrific chocolate cake – cant hurt someone who cooks as well as she does!"

Heero was on his feet, holding Relena's hand he moved towards the door. "Plans changed, your coming with us." He said almost dragging her when she didn't move as fast as he did. "No time – lets go now!" He said to Sally as she moved towards her room to get her backpack. They all sprinted outside to the car and piled in.

"Let us hope that she is too scared to think of taking the plate number." Wufei commented and the engine roared into life and the car sped away from their sanctuary for one night.

* * * *

At Preventor Headquarters the phones were hot. Une watched as the operators took calls and recorded details. She shook her head as she listened to one frightened woman's account of being conned into giving the 'hippie' pilot and his wife food. Une knew very well that Hilde wasn't with Duo. She moved along the line of operators listening into other calls. Every man and his dog had apparently seen Heero and the others in the last day or so, in locations from the Sanq Kingdom to the outer colonies. She really didn't expect to find them this way, but she knew that it would hamper whatever plans they had. Une sat back to enjoy the chaos smiling.

* * * *

Heero watched the security monitor people entering and leaving the Preventor Building. It was busy, but the guards were being thorough in their examination of identification papers and swiping passes. The staffing level at the entrance had been doubled, as well as staff posted to cover emergency exits around the building. Heero smiled. He didn't expect anything less of Une. 

But it didn't matter how many guards were posted around the building. He could still get in. Just as he had built backdoors into the computer system, Heero knew of 'backdoors' into the building in which he so recently worked. Number one rule, always have an escape plan. And the great thing about escape plans was they could always be reversed; exit routes could become entrance routes.

After fleeing from the safe house, they had driven to the shopping centre of the capital, parked the car up in a high-rise car park and gone their separate ways. They were to regroup by Preventor Headquarters at 1700: the end of the one shift and the beginning of another. It would be busy, hopefully busy enough for them to enter on the false passes that each of the pilots had. 

Sally and Relena had left together with instructions to keep low until at the end of the successful mission the others contacted Sally. Heero knew Relena too well to expect them to be far away. He was not disappointed in his assessment of her character when he saw them together in a cafe sitting on stools, sipping coffee and watching the bar television.

Admittedly, they were not easily recognisable. Relena had her hair down, falling like a golden honey curtain down her back rather than her usual signature bun. With her face free of make-up she looked very young. And she was wearing the casual clothes purchased by Sally earlier in the day. Relena looked ordinary and was not attracting any attention. She was studying the television intently. Sally beside her was also dressed casually, her hair loose. Heero had not seen her out of uniform before and almost did not recognise her. Sally caught him looking through the window at them, and grimaced an apology for being so close, her eyes darting towards Relena. Heero understood the message and walked on, Relena was a forceful personality when she wanted to be.

Heero adjusted his cap as he walked. His hair was combed back from his face, neat and close to his scalp. His face was exposed and he felt uncomfortable. But without his hair hanging over his eyes he didn't look himself. Street lamps were coming on, it was dusk and people were starting to leave their place of work and head home. Rush hour was the time for them to move. Heero glanced to his left and saw Duo fall into step next to him, his shoulders hunched reducing his height, a baseball cap on his head, his braid tucked up under his jacket, collar up meeting the back of the hat so that his braid was hidden.

"You were supposed to cut it off." Heero commented, not checking his stride.

"….as if…" Duo muttered. "How long till we move?" 

"Now. We will meet up with Wufei inside, if he makes it." Heero replied, turning and striding purposely towards the entrance of the Preventor building, his pass in hand.

There was a crowd milling in and out of the well-lit entrance. Heero and Duo joined separate cues of people entering, purposely choosing the cues monitored by young guards. Passes were being examined, photos compared to faces and then passes swiped to make sure the person was not already logged as being inside the building. 

Heero schooled his expression into a big grin. It didn't come natural, but his id photo was wearing the same inane grin. And it certainly did make him look very unlike the normal sullen Heero Yuy. His pass was taken from his hand and he winked as the guard as she compared him to his photograph. She scowled at him and swiped the card, then handed it back.

"Proceed Preventor." She said, and turned to the next person in line. 

Heero walked swiftly into the foyer of the building, turning to casually watch Duo's progress. He wore a grim, bored expression, not even looking at the guard who checked his pass. He was allowed through without difficulty.

"I can see you planning the retraining already." Duo commented as he walked up to Heero. Heero nodded, looking for Wufei.

"It is sloppy." Heero agreed, "But that is to our advantage this time." He trailed off blinking, and Duo followed his gaze. An attractive Chinese woman with an impressive bust in Preventor uniform was walking towards them. Her hips swayed enticingly and her shoulder length bobbed hair was sleek and glossy. Her face was made up elegantly and with care, lips painted perfectly in crimson, curved in a sultry smile.

"….Wu….?" Duo whispered weakly, having difficulty raising his eyes from the false bust.

Wufei took them by the arms and led them through the foyer into the stairwell, trotting up several flights in silence until they entered a service room. Here Wufei spun around glaring at the others as he undid his shirt and removed the stuffed bra he wore underneath.

"Thank you so very much Yuy." He grated as he worked "Imagine my surprise when I discovered that my pass stated that I was a woman." He produced a cloth from his pocket and began wiping his face of makeup.

Heero smiled "You had to be unrecognisable. You, of all of us, stood the most risk of detection as you work most closely with the local Preventor staff." He explained

Duo was grinning as he watched Wufei bind back his hair. "Just one thing, Wu." He said, ignoring Wufei's glare. "What shade of lipstick was that, it would look a treat on Hilde."

"Passionate Dream-" Wufei started to answer, then broke off and glared at Duo "Never speak of this again, or I will kill you both."

Heero crouched, his laptop balance on his knees. He smiled in satisfaction.

"Holt is on level six, in his office." He announced, closing the laptop. "Time to go and have a talk with the doctor. Duo, you start sweeping the levels with the scanner. Ascertain how many people are infected. Wufei, you're with me." He grinned "…if you've finished powdering your nose…" he said under his breath. 

If Wufei heard him, he made no sign. "Duo, check your radio" he said, adjusting an ear piece."

Duo placed his own ear-piece in his ear, and listened while Wufei counted down from five. "Roger that" he said, and Wufei nodded confirming that he could hear him.

"Lets move" Heero said, slinging the laptop into a bag and over his shoulder. He opened the door, looked to see if anyone was in the stairwell, then signalled the others to follow. He and Wufei moved up the stairs, whilst Duo started down.

"Take care, sweetheart!" Duo murmured into his microphone. 

"You're dead Maxwell" Wufei growled in response.

* * * *

Relena was staring at the news broadcast, watching the latest on how the leaders of the colonies had been placed into protective custody by Preventors in the face of the number of death threats raised against them since Relena's murder. In one easy sweep Une had gained access to all the leaders, and Relena knew exactly what Une had planned for them. A nice bit of mind control. Then Une would effectively have the rule of the earth and all the colonies. Relena exchanged a glance with Sally. They said nothing, they didn't need to.

The news went on to show footage of protests in the colonies. The colonists were protesting that their representatives had been unjustly imprisoned. Relena rubbed her forehead. Trouble was brewing.

On L3 the protest march had escalated into a riot. When the police had arrived to stop the march, citing that it was an illegal gathering, tempers had flared. Protesters refused to disperse, and riot police had been dispatched. They had formed barrier across the protesters planned path. Helmets were donned, shields were raised, batons uncovered. One final warning was given before the riot police started advancing banging batons against shields in a noisy attempt to intimidate the protestors.

Protesters retaliated by hurling rocks, rubbish tins - anything they could lay their hands on at the police. The police started using force, hitting at the protestor with their batons, and forcing them to move back. A tear started down Relena's cheek as she watched a young girl try and protect her head with her arms, as she was repeatedly hit with a baton.

"Enough" Relena said, getting up.

"Relena" hissed Sally "What are you doing?"

Relena looked at Sally. "This ends now. I am going to see Une." She turned and started walking to the door. Sally cursed under her breath and tried to stop Relena without drawing attention.

"Stop Relena" she hissed, grabbing her arm. Relena kept walking. "Damn it Relena stop!"

Relena paused once she stood on the footpath "Sally, don't try and stop me. Enough people have suffered because of my so-called death. If I wait for Heero to rescue Millardo, how many more people will be hurt or killed. I cannot live with that. No!" she held up her hand as Sally tried to speak "Nothing you will say will change my mind."

Sally frowned and nodded "Ok." She agreed "But I go with you, and you take this for protection." She discreetly passed Relena a very small silver hand gun. "I insist Relena, you take this. I know you know how to use a gun, Noin told me."

Relena hesitated, then took the gun, gingerly placing it in the waistband of her jeans where the cold metal felt strangely reassuring and empowering. "Not exactly regulation Preventor weaponry." She commented. 

Sally grinned. "It was a gift from Wufei, he is a bit of a romantic at heart."

Relena raised an eyebrow before asking "Will it be detected by security?"

"They are going to get the shock of their lives seeing you breathing, they won't even think of searching you."

* * * *

Heero and Wufei walked up the empty corridor towards Dr Holt's office. It seemed that the majority of the Preventors were on assignment around the building. Heero paused outside a door, Wufei moved to the other side looking up and down the hall, ignoring the cameras that were trained on the door. Heero had already disarmed them and sent a looping signal to the control room who would be monitoring this area.

Heero pressed his ear up against the door, listening. No noise. Dr Holt was alone. Heero looked at Wufei, who nodded indicating that he was ready, and Heero tapped on the door.

"Enter" came a voice.

Heero turned the doorknob and walked into the room, Wufei following him. Dr Holt looked up from his desk where he was working straight at Heero's gun. Heero smiled.

"Hello Dr Holt" he said coldly "I have been really looking forward to meeting you."


	20. Chapter Twenty

NEW NOTE: This is a plug for a new story in which I am involved, an adaptation of Jane Austin's many works. It is called Waltz of Wings and you can find it at: 

http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=509538

It is a collaborative story written by five members of the ML which I belong to: Jooles*, kmf, Miaka Mouse, Patty and ~Sailor Celaeno~. We are each writing a chapter in turn, the first one is by me. We have been inspired by the many works of Jane Austin and have adapted themes from a number of her stories for this fan fiction. We would be very pleased if you take a look at it and let us know what you think, thank you.

OLD NOTE:

Last big chapter here and I hope you guys are not disappointed with how it goes. The plot was decided when I started and not all of you will be happy. I wanted to do an original story a little different from the rest, and hope I have achieved this goal. One more chapter after this, and that is the epilogue.

Thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter: Wing, "SAL", Crystal, Cynthia, pokey, Rona, Silver Wing, Arabella, Sai, Tomorrow, Sailor Angel, Relena, Heero Fooie, Former Angel, The Pretty Penwriter (hope you have now recovered!), Jaid Skywalker, mya, mscad, Tenoko (yes!!!), apol, deathangel, AyanamiChan, S3, and Carol.

WARNING: DEATH(S) OF MAJOR CHARACTER(S)

Chapter Twenty

Dr Holt stood slowly and backed away from the desk as instructed. Wufei moved quickly around the desk and frisked him.

"Clean." Wufei reported. Heero lowered his gun.

"How is my fiancée?" Dr Holt smiled. 

Heero narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists. "Why did you do it?" he grated out.

"What else could I do after you took my life away from me." Dr Holt spat back "You and your bloody Gundams. You destroyed the hospital I worked in, caused me injuries to prevent me doing what I loved most. So I found something else to do, something else that I could excel in.

"Or do you mean why did I experiment on the delightful Ms Darlian?" Dr Holt smiled "Such a beautiful woman, so kind, gentle, eager to please. The truth is that I was offered her. I needed a human to experiment on. And there was the bonus that I knew she was dear to you." He paused looking closely at Heero, gauging his reaction "Is that concern I see in your face? Don't worry, I didn't touch her. I would hardly make love to a lab rat – oooofph"

Heero slammed his fist in Holt's stomach cutting off Dr Holt, who bent forward winded. As Heero pulled back his arm for another swing Wufei stopped him. Heero glared at Wufei, but stopped his attack on the doctor.

"Where is Millardo?" Wufei demanded "What sort of bot have you infected him with?"

Dr Holt grinned as he panted catching his breath and holding his stomach. "Millardo?" he laughed. "You think I am controlling Millardo with a nanobot. And you are supposed to be the smart guys." He looked directly at Heero "Millardo hasn't got a nanobot. He was the one who gave Relena to me to experiment on."

Heero's face didn't change, but he clenched his fists, his knuckles whitening where he gripped his gun. "You are lying."

Dr Holt had recovered from the blow to his stomach. He stood straight and folded his arms. "I could be." He agreed, "How is this for an alternative. Relena agreed to the procedure. She likes being rescued by you and for some reason she thinks you need encouragement to be around her."

Heero stared coldly at him. "You are lying." He repeated.

"Heero, Duo reports that Relena and Sally are at the news conference." Wufei interrupted holding his earpiece. "Relena is confronting Une. Millardo is there." 

Heero was looking at Holt didn't break eye contract with him. "Has Duo scanned Millardo?" he asked.

"Negative" Wufei said, "He is attempting to get close enough now."

* * * *

There was silence in the room. All eyes were on Relena as she walked slowly up to the podium. Lady Une watched her, eyes narrowed as Relena walked closer to her. Relena did not take her eyes off Lady Une. She stopped in front of the press, but short of Lady Une. Then Relena turned towards the press.

"Ladies and Gentlemen. As you can see, I am perfectly fine." She lifted her arms as if proving that she was still fully functional. "There appears to have been some confusion and I would like to take a few moments to clear up a few matters.

"I was not kidnapped. I was not held to ransom by terrorist groups. Factions supporting the colonies did not abduct me." Relena smiled as she spoke, pausing between statements. "I was not killed. 

"I regret that the identities of the Gundam pilots were released. These men are good men. These men are honest men. These men are brave men. They have dedicated their lives to protecting the fragile peace that we have. And we have all seen just how fragile that peace is. It has taken one perceived assassination to bring ruin to a lot of the peace that we have all striven so hard for. 

"But I believe in the people of Earth and the people of the Colonies. I know that you are all capable of greatness and I know that we can regain all that we had before. Please, will all the people protesting return to their homes, to their loved ones. I am sure that the Preventors, now that they can see that I am alive and well, will release the leaders of the Colonies from their protective custody and escort them back to their colonies. I hope that the colonies will accept my most personal and humble apology for any insult perceived by the action of the Preventors."

Duo was edging closer to the stage when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned his head sharply to see Quatre and Trowa standing behind him. Trowa had his hair slicked back and his face looked oddly symmetrical with both eyes in clear view. Quatre's blonde hair had been liberally mixed with gel and swept forward over one eye. It looked frighteningly like Trowa's did normally. Quatre appeared to be having difficulty with seeing through the hairstyle, his fingers were pulling it up away from his eye so that his vision was unimpaired. 

"What took you guys?" Duo turned his attention back to the stage.

"We have been one step behind you all day." Quatre said watching Relena closely as the press started taking photos and asking questions. "Got to the safe house about half an hour after you left."

Lady Une suddenly snapped out of the trance she had been in. Her hand moved to her gun belt. Trowa immediately reacted pushing his way through the crowd then using his acrobatic training to vault over the people between him and Une. He somersaulted and landed beside the lady, his hand restraining her arm. 

At the same time Quatre tried to move his way forward, but collided with Duo who was on his blind side.

"Sorry." Quatre apologised as he moved forward again muttering "How the hell can Trowa see anything with hair like this."

"Preventors, to me!" Une called out loudly. Agents drew their weapons and pointed them towards Trowa. Screams came from the audience of reporters. 

"No!" Relena spun around holding her arms out trying to shield Trowa. "Please listen to me. Put your guns away, there will be no bloodshed here tonight. Trowa is not your enemy. I know that Une has said that he is and that the other pilots are, but it was misinformation. This man has been actively protecting me and is no threat to ESUN or the Preventors. Put your weapons down!" Preventors looked at each other in confusion, torn between loyalty to their commander and the compelling voice of Relena.

"Lady Une, please listen to me." Relena walked closer to her, watching her closely "I want to help you. We have been friends for a long time."

"No." Une shook her head "You are the enemy." Preventors again stirred in confusion.

"No I am not." Relena answered "Once years ago we were enemies, but then we worked together towards a common goal of peace and we became friends. Good friends, especially after you took custody of Mariemaia."

Une frowned "Who?" she looked puzzled. "What common goal of peace. I have always followed the orders given by Master Trieze. He wants the ESUN to take control of the colonies, Earth is rightfully dominant over the colonies and should be in charge of them."

"But Une" Relena said slowly "Treize died during the Oz conflict."

Une blinked, her voice beginning to waiver "Treize is not dead. I am following his orders." She looked towards Millardo. "When he arrives back on Earth he will be the Commander and Chief of ESUN and the colonies."

"But Treize is dead." Relena said softly again watching as Une's hands moved away from her gun to her head. "Treize died years ago Une, and you have worked for peace between ESUN and the colonies for such a long time. It is something you believe in strongly."

"Treize is not dead." Une's eyes were beginning to fill with tears. "Millardo, tell them. Treize is not dead."

Millardo did not look at Une, but continued to look closely at Relena. "Treize is dead. He died in the OZ conflict. Chang Wufei killed him. You know that Lady." He said.

Une eyes glazed and she slowly collapsed to her knees. Sally rushed to her side quickly assessing her with a doctor's eye. The Preventors around them slowly lowered their weapons and put them away. It was clear now that something was seriously wrong with their commander.

Relena sighed, and turned back to the press who had been witnessing Une's collapse. She held both hands up again. "Please, ladies and gentlemen. I assure you that Lady Une will be fine. A person who has wished to upset our quest for peace has cruelly manipulated her. Preventors are currently arresting the person concerned and I am sure that more details will be released directly to your news agencies shortly. But for now this news conference finished. I have had rather an exhausting couple of days and I would be grateful if you can leave now to advise your viewers and readers of my safety. I promise that I will be more than willing to answer more questions tomorrow."

The press continued to take photos and record the scene in front of them calling questions to Relena, until the Preventors started to usher them out of the room. They resisted leaving, sensing that what had occurred before them was significant. Cameras flashed, voices were raised. Relena was serene and stood calmly on the stage before them, watching them being urged to leave. She was always calm in situations like these, she had been raised more or less constantly in front of a camera. For the first time in days Relena felt in control again and she liked the feeling.

Relena looked to her right where she spotted Millardo staring at her. He had not changed since she had last seen him six years ago. His hair was still long and neat. He looked a little strange in civilian clothes, so used she was to seeing him in uniform. They stared at each other for a moment. Relena tried to read the expression in Millardo's eyes as he watched her, but found she couldn't. She smiled at him and walked towards him.

"Millardo, its me, I'm alright." She said reassuringly holding her hands out to him. Millardo continued to stare at her and for a moment Relena thought that he did not know who she was. Then he smiled his wonderful big brother smile.

"Your alive!" Millardo embraced Relena. Relena felt his silky hair against her face and sighed contentedly. She had her brother back, her only family. Relena hugged him back "They said you were dead and I believed them." He whispered.

"I'm fine brother." Relena smiled up at him, blinking back the tears of happiness from her eyes. "Soon everything will be back to normal."

Millardo's smile faded.

"Come, you are not safe here! It is too exposed here on the stage. I have much to tell you and only a little time." Millardo said, taking Relena's hand and pulling her to a side door. Relena looked quickly around to see if Une was all right. Sally had produced a medical kit from somewhere and was sedating the now sobbing Lady Une. Trowa was holding Une's arm steady as Sally injected her whilst Quatre was talking softly to Une trying to calm and reassure her.

"OK" she agreed, puzzled as to why he should think her not safe now, surrounded by Preventors. Relena supposed that it might be a suggestion of the nanobot and let herself be led through the door. As she walked through the door she saw Duo frantically working his way towards her. As she turned to reassure him, the door was suddenly slammed shut and Millardo turned the key in the lock.

"Don't trust him. The pilots are not to be trusted." He said, grasping her wrist and pulling her along after him.

* * * *

Duo saw Relena move and swore. He couldn't move forward due to all the people moving against him to leave the room. He scanned Millardo once, then another time to be sure. He watched Relena move towards Millardo, and Millardo smile and open his arms to embrace her.

"Wufei, Millardo is clean. Repeat he is not infected." Duo called, and started trying to force his way through the throng of people.

Duo watched as Millardo grinned at him as he tried to make his way closer. Then Millardo slammed shut the door.

"Shit" Duo groaned, running up to the door and trying to open it. "Wufei, Wufei, you copy?" he practically screamed down the link.

"Not so loud, Maxwell." Wufei snapped back at him.

"What is Heero's location?" Duo asked.

"On his way to you." Came the response. 

"I'm here." Duo spun around and saw Heero standing next to him "Where is she?"

Duo nodded at the door. He stood back as Heero raised a leg to kick the door in, and gestured for Quatre to come over. As the door flew open with the force of Heero's blow, all three of them drew weapons and entered the room.

* * * *

"Millardo – Millardo! Slow down!" Relena gasped as he dragged her along the corridor. They had run out of the locked room and were now making their way down the corridor leading to an alarmed fire exit. Millardo did not hesitate, but pushed the bar opening the door. Immediately the fire alarm rang into life, but Millardo ignored it pulling Relena after him. Outside a preventor guarding the exit spun around to try and stop them. Relena watched as Millardo pointed at the guard. A loud retort sounded and Relena watched shocked as the preventor crumpled to the ground, blood soaking through the jacket of his uniform.

"No!" Relena tried to move to aid the downed man, but Millardo pulled her with him heading along the back of the building towards the main road. As they reached the rubbish bins and bags stacked halfway along the back wall, Relena pulled her hand away from his grip, and rubbed the bruise that was forming there. It was dark and cold and she was scared. "Please brother, listen to me. You are not yourself, you have a nanobot in your brain controlling your actions." She said. "Please let me help that man!"

Millardo grabbed her cold hands and held them to his chest. "Relena, listen to me carefully." He said urgently, "You think that Lady Une and Holt are in control of this – you are wrong. It is him. Yuy. He is the one who has been manipulating events. Him and those other pilots. You must believe me and come with me."

Relena blinked, shaking her head "What…?" she tried to speak but couldn't make the words come to her mouth.

"Its true Relena." Millardo insisted, looking towards the fire escape door then back at her. "Think about it. They have the most to gain from the start of a new war. Do you think it has been easy for them to sink into obscurity, once the infamous Gundam pilots. They want it back. They want the command of troops, they want the thrill of battle. Think about their lives as preventors. How can such a mundane life compare with what they have experienced.

"Think about Yuy. Has he been his usual reticent self, or has he been eager to get your trust. Did he promise that he would be there always to protect you?" Millardo whispered in Relena's ear "Did he say he would be with you forever? Did he tell you he loved you? Why would he suddenly do that when he has been always so keen to be away from you?"

Relena felt ill. She pulled her hands away from Millardo's to her face. The wind outside was freezing, but her face felt hot. She swallowed fearing that she would be physically sick. Millardo's arm went around her pulling her to his body. 

"We must move now! They will be coming to kill you soon." Millardo breathed "They don't want you to live. Hasn't Heero always said he would kill you? Now, quickly, you must come. We don't have much time to flee. Come with me and I will keep you safe." He started to pull her along again, but Relena resisted, confused and beginning to feel doubt.

"Millardo!" came a shout and Relena looked up to see Heero, Duo and Quatre exiting the fire escape with guns pointed towards them. Quatre crouched beside the fallen man, hand on his neck feeling for a pulse. He got up shaking his head.

"Get away from her Millardo!" Heero growled, aiming his gun with a look of determination. "Walk towards me, away from her." Duo, Quatre and Heero fanned out, weapons aimed at the siblings.

"Move away from her Millardo!" Heero called again, his hair blowing in the night air.

"He doesn't have a nanobot Lena!" Duo said not taking his eyes off Millardo. "Ive scanned him. He does not have a bot!"

Relena tried to move away from Millardo towards Heero, but Millardo gripped her arm firmly. "Of course, dear sister, you always did prefer Hero to me." He spat, yanking her back into his grip, his gun pointed directly at her head.

"Son of a …." Duo took careful aim.

"I wouldn't, Maxwell" Millardo said smirking. "You may be able to shoot me, but I will make certain that I shoot her too."

Relena held her head awkwardly to one side as far from the gun as she could. "Please Millardo, stop this. You are my brother-" she started

Millardo looked down at her, his face hard and angry "I'm your brother. Only in blood, dearest Relena. Only in blood."

"But…. but I love you." Relena was stunned at the anger Millardo was showing her. "You love me. You told me that you would do anything to protect me."

"Love, ha!" Millardo scoffed "How can there be love between us, we don't even know each other! How many days have we spent in each other's company? Less than a month? Probably less than a fortnight. But I know enough about you to know that I couldn't love you. God, I don't even like you.

"Your stupid pacifist ways." He muttered "The same shit that our father believe in. And looked where it got him. Dead and our country, no my country, lost. Lost not once, but twice." He squeezed her arm in anger, and Relena grimaced in pain. "I have to admit that you were very good at persuading people that pacifism was the right way, even I believed you for a while. But believe me, a few years spent sitting at a console day in day out trying to make algae grow on Mars brings you back to your senses.

"What I gave up for you." Millardo spat "I lost the respect and command of an army. I lost the rule of a country. I lost every thing. I was an officer with Oz, a good officer. People listened to me and did as I bade. After allowing you to become what I rightfully ought to have been I was reduced to a dirt farmer. With no power or authority. It was intolerable."

"…but you said you were happy, with Noin. Oh God, what you described as Heero's motivation was yours?" Relena could hardly believe her ears.

"Noin soon tired of the poor living conditions. She realised even before I did that I was a poor excuse for a person when I was not in command." Millardo scowled "She tried to leave, but I would not tolerate being deserted.

"What did you do to her?" Relena shut her eyes trying to blank out the cold visage of her brother. Millardo ignored her question.

"Let her go!" Heero said coldly again, bringing Millardo's attention back to him. "What can you hope to achieve now."

"I can use my sister to guarantee my safe passage away from here." Millardo shrugged "After that, who knows."

"You will not be permitted to leave." Said Quatre "Please Millardo, I know you have a good soul.."

"Oh God please don't start that empathic shit on me." Millardo yanked harder on Relena's hair in anger. "I will not hesitate to kill her. Get me transport. NOW!"

Quatre lowered his gun, and without conferring with the other two pilots disappeared back through the fire escape.

"I can't believe you are doing this Millardo." Relena said in despair.

"No, I suppose it would be easier for you to believe my actions if I was under the control of a nanobot. But, I am entirely in control of my own actions. How is it, my dear sister." he said sarcastically " that you don't believe that I have enough intelligence to organise such a strategy on my own?"

"Let her go!" Heero grated as he watched Relena wince from the pressure of Millardo's arm around her neck.

Millardo grinned at Heero "Come, come Yuy." He said softly "Don't you think you ought to confess to your dear little princess that Holt wasn't the only one helping me? Shouldn't you confess your involvement too?"

Heero scowled back at Millardo "It isn't true Relena." He said.

"Come now Yuy, you are too modest." Millardo started pulling the now quiet Relena towards Heero, using her as a shield between him and Heero's gun, his posture slouched so that his head was level with Relena's and partially obscured from a clear shot. "I couldn't have done this without your co-operation. Sister, do you really think that the perfect solider would have left you so exposed as he did?"

"Don't listen to him." Heero growled, adjusting his stance as Millardo moved closer to him. "He is messing with your mind Relena!" Heero was forced to walk back a step as Millardo and Relena came closer. Relena didn't look at Heero, tears were beginning to fall down her cheeks.

"Am I? Maybe I am, maybe I am not. Who can tell." Millardo said "People are just so damn gullible. Get back Heero. Your acting is even beginning to convince me, I'm not sure whether you are going to shoot me or her."

"Let her go!" Duo growled.

"Now this is just getting plain tiresome." Millardo grinned "You know I will kill her, and even if you then kill me I still win. The people will never believe that I murdered my own saintly sister. They know that you are all killers. They know you are capable. They will blame you and the colonies and war will erupt once again. Now unless I get transport in the next two minutes, I will kill her now in front of you. So move it!"

"Millardo, no" Relena let go of his arm and was standing passively, her eyes turned up to her brother pleading. "Please don't do this. Think of all people who will be harmed if the colonies and earth return to war."

"Oh, believe me, I am." Millardo laughed.

Heero watched tense, gun aimed towards Millardo's head, but unable to get a clear shot. "You will kill her even if I let you go." He grated.

"Maybe." Millardo said. " Want to gamble on that?" 

"Take me as a hostage instead." Heero offered.

"Why are you stalling?" Millardo growled, then sensing movement behind him turned slightly still keeping Relena's body between him and Duo and Heero. Trowa was crouched behind him. In an instant, Millardo shot at him. Trowa flipped backwards trying to evade the shot, but was hit by the second bullet Millardo fired and fell to the ground. Millardo then swung back quickly, gun aimed at Heero who had started forward whilst Millardo had been temporarily distracted. Heero stopped moving.

"Nooo!" Relena cried out "Stop it Millardo!"

"For that piece of deceit, you are next Yuy." Millardo grated watching as Heero lowered his weapon. "You are such a weak person that you wont even defend yourself in case you hit her, will you."

Duo glanced at Heero, noting that Hero had lowered his weapon. Duo wanted to fire on Millardo but without a clear shot the risk of injury to Relena was too high. He also knew that Heero would kill him if he accidentally hurt Relena. 

Millardo smiled as he looked at the two pilots standing still. "Goodbye Heero, it hasn't been nice knowing you." 

A loud retort of a gun startled Millardo, and he saw his surprise mirrored in the faces of the two men. Millardo looked down at Relena. He frowned as he saw a small hand gun in her hand pointed at his stomach. He tried to move his gun back to her head and found he had no control over his limbs. The hand holding the gun opened on its own accord and he watched the gun fall as if in slow motion to the floor, where it bounced before lying still gleaming in the artificial light. He dropped to his knees, unable even to put his hands over the ache that was in his stomach. He looked down and watched as his clothes became saturated with blood, feeling the heat trickling down his legs. 

With his last efforts he looked up at Relena who was staring at him in horror, one her hand still gripped tightly around the gun the other pressed tightly over her mouth. He heard her mumble "…forgive me…", then Heero was beside her and had his arms around her middle cradling her close to him.

Millardo smiled at her, and watched her face soften. "….go….to….hell…" he managed to grate out before the colours seemed to bleach out of his surroundings and everything faded to black.

Duo lowered his gun and walked up to Millardo's now prone body, joined by a limping Trowa who was holding a hand over a wound in his leg. Duo crouched, his fingers on Millardo's neck checking for his pulse. There was none. With a bit of effort he turned the body over on its back examining the wound. Relena had shot him point blank in the liver. A lethal shot. Duo looked up at Relena who was standing perfectly still, her eyes fixed on her brother's body and her face white. 

Heero reached for her hand and prised the gun out of her hand. Making it safe he tucked it into his belt. She didn't look at him, but continued to look at Millardo's body, fascinated by the stillness of it. Watching his chest waiting for it to rise with an inhaled breath. Waiting for him to move, to sit up and grin.

"Better get her to Sally." Duo suggested, and Heero nodded pulling the very passive Relena to the fire escape door. As he helped her down the corridor, he heard footsteps and saw Preventors running around the corner of the corridor led by Quatre.

"Thank Allah you are ok!" Quatre said with relief, but warily looking over their shoulder for Millardo. He raised an eyebrow questioning, and Heero shook his head. "Relena….?"

Relena's eyes focused on Quatre's clear blue eyes that were full of concern. She blinked and nodded. "Thank you Quatre, I am fine." She stood a little straighter and looked at the Preventors who had followed Quatre. Identifying from insignia the senior officer, Relena addressed her.

"My name is Relena Darlian. I have just fatally shot my brother Millardo Peacecraft. I believe that you need to place me under arrest."


	21. Epilogue

Epilogue  
  
Relena Darlian, Foreign Minister, a woman in her twenty sixth year frowned as she stood on her balcony breathing in the cool autumn air. Her long honey brown hair was caught up in a loose knot on the top of her head and loose strands were floating in the wind in front of her face. She ignored the distraction concentrating on her breathing. Closing her eyes she started counting slowly to five with each inhale and exhale. She tried to blank her mind, to shut out the painful memories of the last twelve months.  
  
Relena had no family left to her, she had killed her last remaining relative. Her brother. Every time she closed her eyes she would see him falling to his knees. She would see him smile up at her. She would hear his last words to her ".go.to.hell."  
  
It had not taken long for the press to get hold of the news that the Foreign Minister had been arrested on the charge of murdering her brother. Initially the people had protested that she had been unduly detained and had only calmed down once Relena had made a statement confirming that she had handed herself in. The acting head of the Preventors Sally Po had assured the public that the trial would be televised so that the proceedings would be seen to be completely unbiased.  
  
Heero had not taken Relena's arrest well. He continually claimed that he had shot Millardo even when threatened with arrest for wasting police time. He had only stopped when Sally, with Wufei's assistance, forcefully pointed out that he was doing more harm than good to Relena's case. After that Heero and Duo had tried to persuade Relena to flee earth, to relocate in the colonies under an assumed name. Relena had sent them away, momentarily angry that they should think that she should not be accountable for her crimes.  
  
Duo had left Earth shortly after that to return to Hilde, who had been imprisoned by Lady Une during the time that Duo was helping Relena. Hilde had not left the colony as quickly as she should have and had been arrested by Preventors as a spy aiding the Gundam Pilots. She had known the officers who had arrested her and had been treated well as the Preventors had been suspicious of Lady Une's motivations.  
  
Dr Holt had been relaxed when arrested on the charge of kidnapping, grievous bodily harm and conspiracy against ESUN. Whilst on bail and awaiting trial he had word that the General Medical Council had struck him off the medical registrar for malpractice. When he had word that he would never be able to practice medicine again he suddenly disappeared. His car was found parked at the top of a sea cliff and it was widely publicised that he had committed suicide. His body was never found.  
  
Heero had personally co-ordinated a search for Noin as Relena was so desperate to find her. But unfortunately the trail was very cold. Noin had disappeared from Mars some four years earlier, Millardo had told the local authorities that she had returned to Earth. Relena thought Heero had made a mistake as she had talked to Noin during those four years, but Heero showed her some transmissions that had been manipulated and Relena realised that she had not been talking to Noin, but to her brother.  
  
Lady Une had been hospitalised and once back on the proper medication and with a little therapy was back to her old sane self. However, she had been distressed to find that she had been so easily manipulated and had resigned her command with the Preventors, instead opting to keep her hand in with consultancy work. Heero told Relena that he thought it was the best thing for Une to do, no one readily trusted her anymore and a Commander without the trust and respect of his or her staff was not a good Commander.  
  
Relena had hoped to return to politics sooner rather than later, but the President had advised her that she would not be able to rejoin the assembly until after her trial had been completed. He regretted his decision, but it would not have been seemly to have a person that was charged and about to stand trial for murder making policy for ESUN. This was the biggest blow to Relena. She had hoped to throw herself back in her work to try and reduce the pain of what she had done.  
  
The trial itself had been fast-tracked in the interest of keeping stability through ESUN and the colonies. It had been a brief affair, Relena had not denied any of the charges and made no real effort to defend herself. She wanted to be judged by twelve of her peers and she wanted to be punished to help rid her of the pain and guilt that she was feeling. Her council, however, had different ideas and was very articulate in Relena's defence, calling a large assortment of people to testify on her behalf.  
  
The defence demonstrated that Millardo Peacecraft has manipulated many people in an attempt to regain power and authority. It was proven that Millardo had met Dr Holt many years earlier whilst at university and formed a friendship. That friendship had strengthened after Holt's injury, through a common dislike of Heero Yuy. When Mariemaia had died Millardo had seen his opportunity and had recommended Dr Holt to Lady Une as an expert in paediatric cardiology. Une had hoped to better understand the condition that had killed Mariemaia. Dr Holt had prior knowledge of Une's condition from Millardo and had exchanged her medication for a placebo drug and had so started her mental deterioration. Relena had been shocked at so many people from Mars giving evidence of Millardo's dissatisfaction with his life. He had on many occasions said that he would only return to Earth when Relena re-established the Sanq Kingdom as a monarchy and ceded the rule to him. Millardo had felt that he couldn't return without this sanction due to his involvement in nearly destroying the Earth in the Oz conflict.  
  
When the verdict of not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter was given, had Relena felt disappointment at the lesser conviction. She had been horrified when the judge gave her a suspended sentence on the basis that Relena had probably saved many lives by taking Millardo's. She was free to leave. She was free to live her own life. Where was the punishment in that? How could she absolve herself of her sins if no one would punish her?  
  
She had left the courtroom amid a flurry of flash photography, reporters crowding her way, supporters calling her name waving, and protesters booing her holding placards high denouncing her light sentence as an act of blatant favouritism. She had stood at the top of the steps leading up to the building and had smiled at the people, those who supported her and those that did not. Relena had felt her hand grasped by a warm firm hand and turned slightly to see that Heero was at her side. He had warily regarded the crowd, and gently squeezed her hand giving her support.  
  
After Relena had taken questions from the reporters as to how she felt about the result of the trial, Heero had cleared a path to her car. He had not let go of her hand as the car had made its way through the crowd, protestors banging there hands up against the glass, reporter holding cameras up in an attempt to get any photo through the darkened glass. She had been silent all the way to her house, and he had spoken only once, almost in a whisper "You are not alone. I am with you." He had not let go of her hand.  
  
And Heero continued to be by her side, offering silent support when she needed it. Guarding her day and night and being her companion. Cradling her at night when she could not sleep and waking her from nightmares when she could. And finally it had been Heero who made her see that she could never be free of her guilt. She would never forget what she had done. She would have to simply learn to live with the guilt. As Heero had. As all the pilots had. As any soldier who ever fought and killed in a war had.  
  
Unfortunately as soon as Relena realised the truth of his words and had felt the heavy burden lift slightly from her shoulders the next crisis occurred.  
  
A vote of no confidence had been levied against her by other ESUN members due to her change of mind about punishing war criminals. The people who forwarded the motion of no confidence did not wish to work with someone who changed her mind about policy so dramatically and so quickly even when it was not her fault. She was also being held to account for her lack of performance since the trial.  
  
And today was the day that the vote was to be conducted. Today. This afternoon. This very hour.  
  
And here she was trying to pull her thoughts together before she returned to the debating chamber of ESUN to hear what they had decided.  
  
She closed her eyes again and saw Millardo falling to his knees. She saw him smile up at her.  
  
".go.to.hell."  
  
"I did brother." She couldn't help murmur to herself, shaking her hand when she felt the retort of the gun once again tingle through it. Relena smiled as she felt a familiar strong warm hand capture hers and opened her eyes to see Heero standing beside her.  
  
"Come inside, its cold". He said, pushing her gently back into her office. Once inside he closed the door to the balcony and turned to wrap his arms around her, rubbing her arms gently to help her warm up. He regarded her closely and tilted her face up to his before kissing her gently on the lips.  
  
"I am so scared that I will lose the vote." Relena whispered when Heero's lips left hers. She turned to look out of the window. "What will I do if I lose. Politics has been my life. I have never done anything else, how will I live if I can't be promoting peace?"  
  
Heero gently turned her around so she was facing him, and tilted her head back so she was looking directly into his eyes.  
  
"You are the strongest person I know." He said gently "What ever happens you will survive. You will still go on to do great things because peace matters so much to you. And I will be there with you."  
  
"But what if I change. What if I don't find a new niche in life. What if I lose and become like my brother, bitter and twisted. I didn't like not being in control during the crisis. I could almost understand why Millardo so yearned to return to power. Oh Heero, you won't want to be with me then, I won't be me. I will be someone else. Some megalomaniac living in the past trying to live past glories."  
  
Heero laughed before replying. "I cannot imagine you changing that much Relena, but we all do change. I am not the same person I was when you found me on the beach. Would you still want to be with me if I was exactly the way I was when we first saw each other? I wouldn't let you be like Millardo, and you wouldn't either." Heero smiled at her.  
  
Relena smiled and kissed him lightly on the lips. "I love you Heero." She said and hugged him, burying her head in his shoulder again. He kissed her hair lightly and hugged her back. He still didn't return the endearment, but Relena was comfortable with that. She knew that he loved her. And she knew that he would stay with her. For as long as they needed each other.  
  
They silently left her office and walked down the hall, down the stairs, and on to the doors of the assembly hall. The guard on duty nodded at Relena indicating that she could enter. Relena looked at Heero, drew a deep breath and squeezed his hand gaining strength as always from his presence. Heero squeezed her hand in return, before letting go. Relena pulled her jacket down straight, smoothed her hair and took a deep breath.  
  
"Shall we go in?" she asked.  
  
  
  
  
  
The End.  
  
Authors Notes:  
  
Done. Finished. Phew! My apologies to those who are big Millardo fans. I understand those who believe that Millardo would never act the way he has in my story. My justification is that time can change people. Siblings do not always get on as they get older. Millardo didn't cope well to a change to civilian life and it affected his personality. Sorry if I offended anyone with this interpretation. In addition I like reading stories that surprise me, and I have tried to do this in my story. I certainly do not hate Millardo, and he isnt the bad guy in the story I have floating around in my head at the moment.  
  
Thanks to all who have very kindly reviewed this story, I appreciate all comments and suggestions. Thank you those who reviewed chapter twenty: Koneko-chan, Stephanie, Naso, Tenoko (yes to bathroom scene question previous review), Meio-chan, SAL, Li-chan, Waltz195, DH, Wing, Moonlit, Tomorrow, Deloreane C, Crystal, beth, Nova, Cynthia, Daughter of Bast, Anime Echo, deathangel, apol, Carol, shevey, Arabella, Silver Wing, Relena, mya, pokey, Artemis Nightingal, The Pretty Penwriter, and AyanamiChan.  
  
And finally, please do check out the first chapter in a collaboration fic that I am co writer on, called Waltz of Wings by Regency Company. First chapter is mine and can be found at:  
  
http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=509538  
  
Please do go and give it a read and give me any suggestions as to how you think it should proceed or be improved. Cheers! 


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